The Burning Darkness
by mike7577
Summary: Focusing on Raven/OC Character. Rated M for later chapters. Set a few years after the ending of the show. The titans are now in their late 20's raven and BB are dating , starfire and Robin are engaged. They defeated many challenges but there is a new horizon and they must face it. Will Raven remain with BB or will she fall for this new man whose knows her heart better than herself
1. Prologue

This is my first fanfic. any feedback or constructive criticism that can be given would be much appreciated.

**Chptr 1: The Contract**

The night was calm as two men clad in strange garments stood in the courtyard. The sole light between, illuminating them was a light perched up high. A gentle fog crawled on its eternal trek through the night encasing both in a deep shroud. The glint of armor and weaponry the only tell tale sign of the two men's darker natures. Despite the look of inevitable destruction between the two warriors, there seemed to be a civil, yet uneasy peace between them.

"You contacted me for a contract. I must say, you are the least likely person I'd expect to contact me for something like this."

"I have my own agenda. I trust you understand the guidelines for this contract."

"I am quite experienced in such matters. This isn't the first… unusual request I've ever had. I trust you received my price for such a… unique undertaking. Especially since it will require my other jobs I have lined up to be dropped."

"I am well aware. I reiterate the previous message I had sent you, if anything happens to the boy I will becoming for you. There will be nowhere for you to hide. I am very dangerous man with the most powerful friends in the world. We will find you."

"Calm yourself. I have never failed a contract. Besides, you hero types have my respect. Most mercenaries see you as a force to be avoided or destroyed; I on the other hand, see the value of such powerful people keeping order. Not only that, but my job would be far more dull if I didn't have the occasional superhuman to challenge me. Not that anyone has stopped me before." As he stated the last sentence his mask shifted with a silent smirk of pride. A pride developed by centuries of successful work around the globe.

The man was standing tall at 6'5", lean muscular build that most men would consider to be a small frame of a weak man. The astute would see a man built for stamina and long years spent honing battle techniques. He carried himself with what seemed to be an air of arrogance, but was instead was a grace of a master combatant and experienced warrior. His only skin showing where white eyes, and muscular shoulders down to his elbows where his gauntlets rested.

His garb was an ancient forgotten armor. The design most would believe could only be created by a specialized set of highly sophisticated equipment. Only the man opposite him had the experience to recognize Hell's markings lining the ancient armor. The black and red garb started at his boots. Stretching up to his knees, the boots were of a light platemail that appeared to have been blood red at one point but scorched in some great inferno. The two colors laced and intermingled as they ran along the length of the boots. The boots attached to a set of leggings that stretched up to his waist all a shade of black that seemed to put the darkness of night to shame. The only sign that they were not part of his flesh was the knee length loincloth looking cod piece that covered his nether regions. He had twin sets of throwing blades on either thigh; high enough on the leg to be easily reached with a flick of the wrist, but not so far as to limit mobility.

His hands are covered in armored gauntlets that were open only revealing nimble fingers that were gently moving at all times. As a snake ready to strike, they were relaxed but in a position to strike in an instant at the slightest provocation. The gauntlets were of a light weight design, more akin the ancient assassins of Japan; durable, yet light and flexible as not to hinder the users movements and capabilities. They ran up his hands to the elbows, growing steadily redder as they did.

His torso was covered in an armor similar to the more modern armors of the well known special operations soldiers who expected some close range combat. It was covered in plates of unknown design and make. They moved gently with every breath he took, but a passerby would see an armor of superb design and defense without diminishing mobility. It was a dark red color bordering on black that seemed to suck the very light from his surroundings.

His mask was of a design none had seen before or since. It began at his chestpiece and ran all the way around his skull and left only his eyes, eyebrows and bridge of his nose revealed. One wouldn't be able to tell where the mask ended and his skin began if it weren't for the light flesh revealed. An skin tone that was not quite pale but several shades lighter than a normal person should have. A dark contrast to the black helmet with blood colored streaks running the length of the helmet.

Any onlooker would see his eyes before all else. His eyes seemed to pierce in the victim of his sight's very soul. The pure white eyes pierced the very light and showed the sight of a predator. Of a being whose sole existence seemed to be to pick out its prey and determine where to strike hard and without mercy. One misstep or mistake with this creature would mean sure destruction on whatever being was next in his seemingly unstoppable lust for blood.

He eminated an aura that seemed to suck the very warmth from your blood, and yet would melt the flesh on a single touch. A silent intensity that would cause a man to cower as a mouse would a lion. He seemed to release intense heat from every pore of his body. The very air around him almost seemed to ignite from his heat as the air twisted from the heat.

"To ensure that you know I understand the terms of our contract, I will reiterate the conditions set by you. I am to challenge him, his team, and his perceptions of what a real threat are. Show him that his meager experiences are nothing compared to what he will face. Now, I understand he and his team defeated Trigun, quite an impressive feat. But overall it was due to luck, not skill. Trigun was arrogant and weakened after he had invaded the realm. They got lucky. That is all. You and I know what real challenges exist in the universe. I've slain a few of them myself. Even my former apprentice, slade fell to such arrogance."

At the last comment the man opposite seem to shift slighty in surprise.

"Do not be surpised that you didn't know Slade, or more popularly known Deathstroke, once trained under me. A promising pupil, yet very misguided. I do take blame for his shortcomings, I did not do the…best job teaching him how to properly use the skills I gave him. His ability to bring the Teen Titans to their knees on a select few occaisions was rather surprising, but I suppose even a broken clock is right even twice a day."

"now to continue my previous explanation, I will challenge his personal combat, technique, tactical, and leadership skills. No permanent harm must come to him, or his team. I will also challenge them all. In combat as well as personal development, after all, they are barely in their twenties and need quite a bit of guidance that they seem so opposed to otherwise. Do I have the general idea? Or have I left something important out?"

"No innocents must be killed in the crossfire. I am not so naïve to believe that innocents will not be hurt at all, but there must be no fatalities. This is also non negotiable." When he finished his last statement his body tensed up at the idea of leaving children orphaned in such a manner as having godlike beings battle before them. He had seen this many times before and would never willingly allow it to happen.

"That is something we agree on. I may be a mercenary, but I am not without a heart. Innocents are those that we super beings should be protecting, and leaving out of our problems. Any who would use them as leverage, are nothing but cowards, if one cannot win with honor, they shouldn't even bother trying in the first place. Has the money been sent to my account as per my requirements?"

"No. I will wire the money once I believe that you will accept and follow my conditions. Any deviation will result in cancellation of payments and I will send the league to bring you in. As it stands I will keep the league at bay, but at my word they will take you down. You are skilled, but even you or I could never hope to stand against the leagues full power."

"Save your pretty threats Wayne. I will fulfill my end of the deal. I am the best, that's why you contacted me." With that remark the man disappeared in a burst of flames to Jump city to begin his contract.

Batman stood in shock, how had this mercenary discovered his identity? What could that mean to his life and Gotham.

"I hope this helps you Richard. I can't risk you going solo without seeing the true dangers that the universe will give you."

He turned to leave, knowing full well he may have unleashed the wolf upon the sheep.


	2. The Beginning

**Chapter 2**

**The Beginning**

As the alarm clock began its blaring Raven woke up with a gentle groan. She felt the familiar satin sheets running along her bare body, and a familiar arm wrapped tightly around her. She smiled and turned onto her other side to see her lover still wrapped in Morpheus' tight embrace. He had a trail of drool dripping out of his lip gently pooling next to his mouth and running down towards his neck.

She groaned in annoyance, "I wish he wouldn't drool all over my pillows when he stays over. I'm tired of rewashing the damned things 3 times a week. I suppose I've got to make up for those hickeys I keep leaving him. The guys keep mocking him for them."

She remembered the last time she left bite marks on his neck, and all the harassment he received for it from the guys. She couldn't help but blush as they made poor innuendoes and Starfire kept asking how it was. "Why is she so insistent on knowing how our sex life is? I don't ask about hers' and Robins, even though I can hear it through all hours of the night. It sounds like he's slowly skinning her."

Beast Boy slowly began to stir next to her with a loud groan. He pulled away from her and changed into a cat to do his morning stretching. With a lot more claw use that Raven appreciated as he slowly tore into her sheets. He began to stretch and twist at angles contortionists would be jealous of, all the while yowling and moving along the length of her bed. "Would you mind not doing that on the bed Garfield sweetheart? You're damaging my sheets."

He resumed his human form sheepishly with an apologetic grin and a small blush. "Sorry Rae, I kinda forgot this isn't my bed. I'll try and remember next time."

"That's what you said the last 3 times. We're going to start spending the nights at your room if you don't stop. I'm going to have to go get new sheets today now. These ones are shredded." She said with extreme annoyance. She loved Garfield, but he refused to try and adhere to the only three rules she had set for him.

He seemed to get a kick out of wrecking her bed sheets. This had happened three times prior and showed no signs of stopping. She had to get new bed sheets two times and this would make three. Her first rule was to help her keep her bed decent after their sleep over's. They hadn't had sex in her bed yet, as her need to keep things immaculate included her bed above all else, much to his disappointment.

The 2nd rule was not bothering her meditations unless it was an emergency; as it was her only way to keep full control of her emotions. Despite his knowledge of what has happened every time she lost control he still insisted on bothering her. She appreciated the sweet gestures; a little kiss on the cheek, or getting her food and tugging her out of the meditation for breakfast, he did it without regard to her constantly telling him not to disrupt her meditations.

She still shuddered at what happened the last time she lost full control. She had attempted to kill someone. She didn't believe that an individual had the right to kill another person. Even though Terra had betrayed her team and was systematically eliminating them, she didn't feel she had the right to lose control like that. She didn't want that to ever happen again. So she had increased her usual meditation times from her normal hour a day to two a day. Since she had, she had been doing better at developing control of her powers and her emotions were kept in better in check. Her meager yet comfortable social life had improved a good deal because of it. That progress would reverse if he didn't learn not to interrupt her sessions.

The final and most important rule for her was that he needed to give her some space. She loved spending time with him, but not every second of every day like he seemed to desire. He would often follow him around like a lost puppy, sometimes literally. It was adorable, but ultimately caused some slight anger.

"I'm sorry Rae. I promise to do better. Please forgive me?" He said it with a truly sad expression that they both new made her feel slightly guilty, even if she wouldn't admit it.

She rolled her eyes and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "I forgive you. Now, go get showered. You smell like you haven't in a week. I love you."

He smiled whole heartedly and ran for her shower with a wave, "love you too babe!"

Once she heard the shower turn on she hopped out of bed and got dressed as quick as she could to go begin her morning meditations. A half hour of peace while he was in the shower would be a nice chance to begin her hour of meditation.

She had discovered that quiet music to drown out the background noises going on through the tower often helped her meditation. She turned on her favorite group. She began to enjoy the gentle piano playing and gentle baritone of the lead singer as she assumed her position and began her mantra.

"Azaroth & Metrion & Zinthos. Azaroth & Metrion & Zinthos. Azaroth & Metr…"

Her meditation was cut off by a loud screeching of the alarm indicating an emergency had begun and required everyone's full attention. She groaned in annoyance as she stood up preparing to head to the briefing room. As she began to run out of her room she heard Garfield crash onto the floor of the bathroom in his haste to exit along with a small stream of obscenities. Usually vulgar language annoyed her, but something about karmic payback from him wrecking her sheets made her chuckle as she left the room.

Downstairs in the briefing room Robin was already ready with Starfire standing next to him. Her hair was slightly disheveled. She clearly didn't get to finish brushing her hair when the alarm went off. Robin was immaculate as usual. How he got prepped so fast she would never know. Cyborg came up from the elevator. No doubt working on the T car all night.

Garfield came crashing down the stairs moments later still soaking wet and wearing his costume ready to go. As he got into postion around the briefing table, Beast Boy continued straightening his suit and drying his hair off.

Robin checked the table and began the briefing. "Titans, we have something going on at the museum. There was a large explosion located in the back followed by an unknown perp destroying sever exhibits. He immediately disabled all the guards. When the task force arrived to stop the perp he lit the squad cars on fire and didn't even flinch when the bullets from their assault rifles hit him. We have what appears to be a man who is capable of martial arts and is a Pyrokinetic. Pulling up the security footage."

The footage began to play revealing a man garbed in black armor with wavering lines of air seeming to burn around him. It began with him taking a basic fighting stance and with a strong rush of his arm he launched a fireball at the dinosaur display. People ran and managed to escape the blast as it hit the tyrannosaurus skeleton.

A pair of guards ran to tackle him. Neither guard was a small man. Between the two of them they must have weighed at least 500 pounds he merely stopped for a second seemingly conflicted then grabbed them both by their collars and tossed them thirty to forty feet to each side, knocking them out cold. He then proceeded to check his work and walk on, igniting an old model T exhibit as well as a suspended solar system exhibit. His next move was to walk over to a Japanese armor set, at least 600 years old, look at the camera and ignite it with a scream of rage. Once the armor was ignited he looked up at the security camera and winked.

He proceeded to walk out of the view of the cameras, but an officer could be heard.

"Put your hands in the air and drop to your knees! You are under arrest!"

"Bring me the Titans, and this senseless destruction will cease. Do not attempt to apprehend me yourselves. It will result in nothing except injured officers. If they do not reveal themselves soon, I will destroy the few real artifacts that this museum has on display."

As he finished his speech the camera cut out.

Robin stated, "This man knows who we are and is looking for us. This mean he is prepared for us and we need to be prepared for anything. He doesn't appear to be a member of HIVE or The Brotherhood of Evil. I ran a facial recognition scan, but the mask rendered that useless. Whoever this is, we must be on our guard. Titans! Go!"

They all began to move out. Starfire and Raven took to the air. BB changed in to a falcon and flew out the window. Robin and Cyborg immediately headed to the roof to get into the T jet.

Within mere minutes the women were hovering above the museum. Watching the scene unfolding as they waited for the men arrive. Their 10 years of experience in the Titans taught them that whenever someone is looking for the Titans, they should never tackle it alone.

Below, the police had all but vacated the area, partially because they knew the Titans were coming, and partially because the masked man was igniting cop cars one by one. He slowly lit on fire before each attack, as if summoning the energy. He would then take aim at a cop car and fire a blast a few seconds later. The police were hopelessly outmatched and abandoned the squad cars quickly.

Suddenly, the man ceased to burn and looked straight up and the two Titans hovering above him. He seemed to smirk and called up to them.

"Ladies, please feel free to join me on the ground. I will not attack until you all have assembled. You have my word. And don't worry, I haven't killed anyone yet."

Raven felt a chill run up her spine at the man's words. He seemed… jovial that they had arrived. He was so calm, and collected, as though the destruction he had just caused was a mere footnote in his day. His words weren't the only thing that shook her. He had a dark aura about him. She could see great darkness emanating from his core. This darkness was a large part of him, it may even have created him, but it strangely seemed to obey him. It wasn't controlling him as most would be from the power that just bled out of him.

The women slowly lowered themselves down to street level to face their foe. He merely stood there quietly and watched them both land. He bowed graciously to them both and examined them both for a few seconds before speaking again.

"Welcome Titans. I have read quite a bit about you. But it would seem the tabloids didn't do your beauty justice. Especially, you Raven."

As he finished his sentence BB landed next to raven and took the form of a gorilla. With a roar of engines the T jet flew over head and a 2 ton Cyborg crashed a few feet to the left of Starfire. Robin landed with perfect flair in the front and center of the group.

"Excellent entrance Titans. I must say quite impressive display. It was all for naught, but impressive none the less. I am quite acquainted with all of you and your powers. So, to be gracious I should introduce myself. I am known as Goryo (author's note. in Japanese it means the vengeful spirits of the dead.) and I am here for your destruction."


	3. The Duel

Hey guys. next chapters up. i'm gonna try and make it weekly thing to get these stories out. i'm thinking every either Wednesday, or Thursday depending on my work and school schedule. Hope you guys are enjoying the story and i am just getting started.

**Chapter 3**

**The Duel**

"I am known as Goryo, and I am here for your destruction." With a flourish of flames, the black armored man bowed to them all. Raven noticed that the whole time his eyes flitted between herself and Robin with intrigue. He was interested in them above the other Titans, clearly. The empath could feel Garfield's jealousy oozing off him. Clearly he had noticed the man's gaze.

"Now that we have the introductions out of the way, while I would enjoy defeating you all at once, I challenge you to a duel Robin. A little duel between two martial artists. The stakes are such, I will suppress my powers and it will not be to the death. I merely wish to see if you are as skilled as I have heard. No interference from your allies. If you manage to defeat me, I will go quietly to jail, or a holding cell in your tower. Do you agree?"

Robin stepped forward preparing to fight. "Why should I trust you'd keep your word? You came into town smashing everything around you and hurting innocent civilians. What makes you think that I am naïve enough to believe you wouldn't attack me with your powers and attempt to kill me immediately, let alone go quietly when I defeat you?"

"I see no injured civilians. The guards I knocked out may be walking funny for a while with headaches, but no permanent harm was done. As you can see I have been more than accommodating since your teams' arrival. I could have attacked you immediately upon your arrival and taken out at least 2 members before you and Cyborg arrived. I chose to wait. If you do not accept, I will destroy you and your team. This is your only chance to beat me. So I ask again… Do You. Accept."

Robin turned to look at his team for a silent vote. BB wouldn't take his eyes of the man. Rage and jealousy seething from his very being as he shook his head. It was no secret that since Terra had abandoned him all those years ago, he had become a very protective boyfriend. Seeing this man eyeing his lover understandably drove him to anger.

Cyborg had his typical stoic expression as he too shook his head at Robin. His best friend had been there to see Robin accept duels from madmen the world over. He knew better than most how to size up an opponent and didn't like Robin's odds. He readied his cannon and turned back to the man in black.

Starfire's eyes expressed everything for him. She was scared of his choice. She knew he would accept the challenge regardless of what the others said. She loved her betrothed and didn't want to see him get hurt as Slade had done so many times in the past. His pride wouldn't allow him to decline a direct challenge; especially if there was a chance it would prevent harm to his team and future wife.

Raven didn't even seem to register what was going on amongst the teammates. Her eyes were locked on the man ahead of her. Her usual battle stances abandoned as she kept examining every inch of the man. She was locked on him for reasons that Robin couldn't even guess at. He silently thought to himself, "What's on her mind?"

Raven couldn't pull her eyes away from this man. His aura was so similar to hers that she couldn't focus to on anything else. "Is he one of my father's old minions? He doesn't bare the marks that would show him to be slave of Trigon's. He is a dangerous being, with a great deal power. We need to find out who he is before we try to engage him. I don't want a repeat that happened when Slade returned as Trigon's tool."

Robin turned away from his team and smirked at the dark warrior ahead of him. "Deal. No one gets involved. Just us. Don't be upset when I am dragging you out in chains after I beat you Goryo."

"Beloved, please be careful. We don't know what this thing is capable of." Starfire whimpered barely loud enough her lover to hear. She was terrified of what may come and didn't want him hurt.

Robin turned to her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, then turned back to the warrior. He walked to the center of the street just down the stairs from him with a grim look on his face. He had to be on his guard. This man was powerful and couldn't be trusted. He prepped a few tools on his belt immediately, just in case.

Goryo walked to the base of the stairs as well. He kept his gaze on Robin, everyone else ceased to exist to him. He stretched his shoulders with every step. The inferno surrounding him died down till only a mild shift of the air indicated his body's elevated temperature. His gaze was intense. To the four onlookers he seemed as though he was attempting to rip Robin's soul out through his eyes. They bore deep into the boy wonder.

"Now; to finish the terms. I lose, I surrender unconditionally. I win; I would request any books that you may possess on ancient summoning rituals. Before you through any accusations, I merely request ones with historical facts, not the magical rituals themselves. I am searching for… some information. And of course I leave unmolested by your team, which goes without saying. Are these terms reasonable?"

"No. you won't beat me, but even if you do, my team wouldn't allow a criminal to leave. The only thing you'd gain is bragging rights saying you beat me. You're going to jail whether you like it or not." Robin smirked. "This will be your first and last mistake challenging me. You're gonna rot in jail."

Goryo smirked behind his mask. "We'll see about that."

Both combatants assumed battle positions and eyed each other over. Each subtle movement was caught and examined as they began to circle one another. Each step was calculated meticulously. Each breath counted, each turn of a head or wrist checked. Robin charged first.

His first move was to throw a right punch at Goryo's midsection with a roundhouse following immediately. The punch was blocked with the left arm as he ducked below the kick and threw a leg out to attempt to trip the boy wonder.

Robin responded with a roll to the side and resumed his assault. Punches and kicks began to fly at an incredible speed. The entire time Goryo did nothing more than block and dodge his opponents attacks. The both separated with a back flip. Neither challenger was even winded yet. Robin couldn't help but feel a thrill run up his spine. This guy was good, no doubt about it. He was going to have to step up his game to beat him. The warm up was over.

"Very good Robin, it would seem you're as good I've heard. I suppose it's my turn isn't it?"

With speed that caught everyone off guard, Robin included, Goryo closed the distance. He threw a punch straight into the boy wonder's midsection and caught his arm and threw him over his shoulder straight into a car which slid a few feet from the force of the impact. Goryo resumed his stance, "Please don't stay down, I didn't hit you that hard… yet."

Robin dislodged himself from the car as he attempted to catch his breath. If it wasn't for his body armor that punch would have shattered a few ribs. Robin assumed a more limber stance; he wasn't going to be caught off guard again.

"You got lucky, I dropped my guard. That won't happen again." Robin charged with everything he had.

As the battle commenced both fighters began to move faster, delivering more punishing blows. As the Titans looked on they saw their leader fighting with a fire in his eyes he hadn't had in years. Each blow that was countered was followed by 2 more. Each punch was blocked slower and slower, until a pair of boots collided directly with Goryo's face. He took a step back as his head jerked back hard.

Robin wasted no time in following up with a series of gut punches that cause Goryo to slide back as his body was assault with dozens of bone crushing blows. Robin's coup de grace was a flying kick. As his foot went for the final blow on his opponent, he seemed to flow out of the way. Robin soared partially past him as his momentum threw him forward. Goryo caught him by the back of the neck and slammed him face first into the ground with earth shattering force.

Goryo stood up straight, and merely stood over the now unconscious hero. He kneeled down and gently checked his pulse. Before anyone could react he turned Robin over and picked him up.

"He's unconscious. I believe he'll have a concussion after this and a broken nose, but there is no permanent harm."

He walked over to Starfire and placed him gently into her waiting arms. "When he wakes up, tell him his technique was nearly perfect, he just needs to work on his fluidity and stopping power. His former teacher apparently forgot to tell him that."

He turned to walk away. To everyone's surprise it was Raven who called out, "Stop! You aren't leaving here. You are still under arrest."

He stopped in his tracks, and turned to look at the sorceress. After a few seconds of deliberation he shrugged and assumed a battle stance. "If you intend to arrest me, you're wasting your time. I am leaving, and I expect to see someone leaving those books I am searching for here tomorrow at sundown."

With that he disappeared in a wall of flames. Cyborg and BB charged forward attempting to catch him before he could escape. They merely charged into open air as the man ceased to be there.

"DAMN IT! Where'd he go?! Why'd we let Robin fight him alone? We knew he couldn't take him. DAMN IT!" Cyborg shouted and slammed his fist into the ground, creating a small crater in the process. As he looked up he saw a note on the ground. On it was scrawled a strange message, in a language that wasn't in his memory banks.

"Raven, can you read this note? I think this guy left this note for you. It looks like the writing in some of those books of yours."

Raven walked over as Starfire held Robin's unconscious form in her arms with tears in her eyes. She took the note out of his hands and looked it over for a minute. As she read and translated it in her mind her eyes changed from focused to slightly confused, to alarm.

"Well don't leave us in suspense sweetheart, what does it say?" BB asked anxiously.

"It's written in two different languages. The languages of Hell and Azaroth. The first I can only partially understand. The Azaroth message says, this is only the beginning. I will be back, and I will not be so merciful."

She looked over at her best friend and saw her eyes filled with fear and sorrow for the man in her arms.


	4. Home invasion

**The Burning Darkness**

**Chapter 4**

**Home Invasion**

In a burst of flame Goryo appeared in his base of operations. His base was some form of underground complex. Surrounding him were various armor and weapons of varying types. Some were of the ancient style one would expect collectors from around the world to showcase in their homes, such as knight armors and swords. All of the antiquated tools were well maintained and immaculate. Others were of the more modern tastes. Guns and explosives were abundant, neatly covering the area.

As he walked out of his appearance area a loud bark greeted him along with a flurry of golden fur. He stopped as a 100 pound dog charged him full speed, and leapt onto him. He immediately caught the beast and chuckled as her tail furiously beat the air.

"Hello Lexi. Glad to see you didn't miss me too much while I was away."

As he continued to pet the great beast he and the dog both stopped mid exchange and turned to look at the area he had just appeared from. The tell tale shimmer left behind from his teleportation didn't cease as it normally would. He stood up and gently let his dog down and watched as the shimmer seemed to expand.

"That's odd. I had expected it to close by now." He mused to himself quietly. He looked down at his dog as she stared intently at the portal. Her eyes never left the portal and her tail continued its wagging, albeit with less enthusiasm.

Lexi was a pyrenees, retriever, and husky mix. She had a dark colored strip of fur beginning at the back of her head running down to the tip of her tail gradually getting darker till it reached the tip. She was a bright golden color from that strip to her unusually white underbelly. Lexi stood shoulder to paw 3' tall, and a good 6' snout to tail. He had sleek well groomed fur and a slightly rotund belly, due mostly to her Pyrenees heritage.

"Lexi, let's go get some dinner. I bet you've been hungry while I've been away."

She let loose a loud bark of agreement and sprinted out of the room leaving her master in the dust. Before he followed her he turned back to watch the portal for a moment and went to take care of his only companion.

*******************************************************************************************************************8

As Raven finished reading the note to her friends she checked all their faces. The expressions held only exacerbated the emotions she was feeling off them. Her empathic abilities had been more sensitive since she had begun dating beast boy and times like this didn't help.

Cyborg wore a look of sheer disbelief. He had been around the world and fought numerous super humans. He had heard death threats for years and had been close to death more than most of the other titans. Yet he still seemed flabbergasted at this.

Beast Boy was still incredibly angry. He stared daggers at the note, seemingly attempting to ignite it with his eyes alone. Whoever this man was that had beaten his friend and eyed his lover had accidentally put himself square at the top of his shitlist.

Starfire was trying her hardest not to cry as she continued staring at the man in her arms. Blood slowly leaking out of his nose and some severe bruising already forming all over his face. She clearly had either not heard or ignored the note as she began to walk towards Raven.

"Raven, we must return to the tower so Robin can rest. When he is well we must find this man who hurt him and stop him." Her eyes were pleading her friend to take them all home. Raven turned to her friend and placed a glowing hand on Robins forehead.

"I can heal him now Starfire. Just hold him steady." Raven's glowing hands began to transfer her energy into Robin's body. The swelling went down immediately and the blood flow from his nose ceased almost as quickly. The bruising to his arms faded as well. Within moments it was as though he had merely fallen asleep In Starfire's arms. Starfire's eyes lit up with joy seeing his resting, undamaged, face.

"Goryo was right, he didn't suffer any severe damage. That last blow was meant to merely knock Robin out. If he wanted he could have killed him, but chose not to for some reason. When he wakes up we are gonna have to go out of our way to look for some information on this guy."

Beast Boy walked up, still not happy. His mood had improved since he watched his friend heal, but he still wanted to hurt someone. Cyborg spoke up as he followed Beast Boy over.

"lets head back to the tower. I already called the T jet back and you all can fly home. I'll meet you there once the jet gets back."

Starfire nodded her agreement and began her flight back home. Raven watched as she left and felt a strange disturbance behind her and looked where Goryo had teleported. It was faint, but she she could feel a dark energy left behind. Her attention did not go unnoticed.

"Rae? What's the matter?" Beast Boy spoke up as he took a position next to her. The entire time trying to gauge what she was doing, and trying to see whatever it was she was seeing.

"Nothing, just felt a strange energy flow from the spot Goryo left from. I'll see you at home. I am gonna check this out. Maybe I can get a reading on the energy so I can sense for it when Robin wakes up."

Beast Boy frowned, clearly not happy with the idea. He stood there for a moment trying to think of what to say to her.

"I'm not leaving Raven. I don't wanna leave you alone in case he comes back and tries something. It's too dangerous." He said resolutely

Raven turned back to him with a look of annoyance on her face. She appreciated his concern, but he seemed to forget she was probably the most powerful member of the team and didn't need a babysitter for something this simple. If he returned she could easily teleport back to the tower herself before he could lay a hand on her.

"Garfield, go home. You need to get some rest. I'll be home shortly I promise. If he does comeback I'll teleport back immediately and he won't even see me. I'll be fine. Please." As she said the she walked over and gently placed a hand on his cheek to calm him. For some reason a simple exchange like this always calmed them both and helped them feel better.

He sighed in resignation as he nodded to her. He reached forward and gently pulled her in for a kiss as the T jet landed behind him. He stood with her in his arms with his lips gently pressed against hers for a long moment and took a step back. She gave him one of her small smiles to reassure him, and she turned back to her work. He took one last look and turned into a falcon again and took the skies.

She felt him leave and began to focus her mind on the task at hand. She could feel a very strong dark energy that was completely foreign, yet strangely familiar. She began to walk closer as she inspected the source of the energy. As Raven walked around the site she caught something she was surprised she hadn't caught before. There was a slight shimmer floating about eight inches off the ground extending to around four feet above the base.

The distortion of light wasn't light reflecting off the remains of the portal, it was light being absorbed by the portal in some small way. She began to reach out to the remnants with her powers. Gently allowing her own aura to probe the remnants. At first there seemed to be no reasonable response for the opening. As she pushed more energy into it it suddenly opened into a gaping black hole reaching from the ground to six feet up, and easily six feet wide.

She jumped back and cut her flow of energy to the portal ready to react if anything came through, but nothing came. She saw the portal slowly begin to close. In a strangely rash decision she walked up to the portal and placed her hand on it. As her hand made contact the portal expanded and encompassed her whole being instantly. Before she could react she was somewhere else.

"That can't be good." She thought to herself as she berated herself for her carelessness. She knew better than to interact with a strange remnant of dark magic before, but she had done it anyway. Now she was Trigun know's where, without help, and a potentially pissed off boyfriend at home wondering what's taking her so long.

She took in her surroundings quietly and carefully. She inched out of the dark enclosed concrete room to see what looked like an armory of some sort. There where weapons from throughout history covering the walls. As she began to examine the room more closely, a loud bark and pounding of feet came into the room. A large golden dog came charging straight for her.

" Oh no…" she thought with a hint of panic. She assumed a stance prepared to defend herself when the beast stopped in its tracks. Its tail was wagging profusely. Its long tongue sitting out as it panted and eyed her excitedly. It released a whine as it gently laid down eyes still on her and tail wagging hard.

She watched the dog quietly for a moment waiting for it to attack. When it did no such thing she slowly began to back towards the portal she had arrived in. With her first step back the dog's tail wagged with less intensity as it began to whine louder. It's originally jubilant eyes were taking a sadder descent.

Raven began to feel somewhat sorry for the poor animal. It looked as though it had wanted to play and she was denying it. She had always had a soft spot for dogs. She refused to tell anyone else. It just seemed like the kinda thing that was better kept to herself. She, against her better judgement, dropped to one knee and motioned quietly for the big dog to come over to her.

The dogs joy almost choked the empath's thoughts as it sat up and gently trotted over to her and licked her hand. It's tail resumed it wagging and it laid down on her now bent knee. Raven groaned at being trapped under what easily was a hundred pounds of cuddly fur. She began to rub it's belly as she removed her leg. The dog rolled completely onto it's back and let out a contented huff as its tongue hung out of it's mouth.

Raven couldn't help but let out the faintest of smiles. She loved the times when she and beast boy would cuddle on the bed or couch and he would take the form of a dog. She would just lay there and pet his belly or scratch his ears as he rested next to her. She had thought of asking if it would be alright to get a dog of her own, but decided against it as the poor animal would probably not receive the attention it deserved with her crime fighting activities.

"LEXI! HERE!" Raven's musings were cut short as a short command was given to the dog. Lexi rolled over and sprinted to her master's side.

Goryo's eyes were ablaze for the second time today. Not for the thrill of battle. Instead, with rage at the woman before him who had entered his home and dared touch his companion.

"oh shit." Raven thought.


	5. Quid Pro Quo

**The Burning Darkness**

**Chptr 5**

**Quid Pro Quo**

**Hey guys. sorry i'm a couple days late on the update. I kept rewriting the chapter over and over trying to get it to feel right. I think i nailed it. And to make up for being late, this chapter is a long one. Hope you guys enjoy**

"Oh shit." Raven thought.

"I just teleported into his base and had his dog on her back. This can't possibly end well. How the hell do I get out of here? I can't just teleport to Titan's Tower. I don't even know where here is. Let alone figure out where the tower is. The left over's of his portal are gone for some reason. Just my luck." She finished that last thought with a barely visible grimace. She was in a rough situation and she knew it. If she was lucky maybe that fight with Robin had worn him down and he'd be too fatigued to fight.

Goryo continued to stare daggers into her. She could literally see the flames beginning to lap at his feet slowly spreading across his body. The floor below him began to grow scorched and charred from his mere presence. His rage was being personified by the superheated air around him beginning to shimmer and burn.

"What are you doing here!? I gave you and your teams a chance to recoup orate after that beating I delivered Robin, and yet you are still foolish enough to follow me here. Are you suicidal or just plain stupid?" his words only fed the flames that were now encompassing his entire being.

Raven felt indignant at being spoken to like a mere child. She was not a child and wouldn't be berated like one. She stood up slowly, attempting to appear casual in light of the knot that had formed in her stomach. She slowly reached a standing position and looked him in the eyes with the same glaring expression that Beast Boy had told her sent chills down his spine sometimes.

"It wasn't exactly my choice to end up in this hovel. I accidentally touched your remaining portal and was transported against my will. Your dog came over to me, for some reason the fearsome Goryo's dog is a pitiful guard. She rolled over onto me, I didn't do a thing."

The anger in his eyes disappeared with a look of bewilderment. How had this woman gotten through his closed portal? How had she managed to get his dog to roll over peacefully for her? The last person who tried to pet her is now 2 limbs lighter. She wasn't a social dog for anyone, except under his direct orders.

The flames that surrounded him flared for a moment in his confusion and a yelp was heard next to him. With a sharp turn he turned to see a badly burnt paw and his dog trying to limp away from him.

The flames disappeared immediately as his rage turned immediately to concern. He turned to his unexpected house guest and glared for a moment and waved his hand at her. She sensed dark energy flow from him, and felt it form behind her. She risked a glance and saw a black hole behind her. Similar to the portal that brought her to this fresh hell she was in now. She turned back to see him holding his dog glaring at her.

"Leave. Normally I'd kill someone for trespassing into my home, but Lexi seemed to like you. I'll give you this one time pass. Now get out."

He stood there for a moment waiting for her leave. It quickly became obvious she wasn't leaving when she didn't even twitch. Why was he not trying to kill her? What kinda connection did he have to this dog that turned him from; one of the deadliest adversaries she had been face to face within a decade, to a doting father figure?

"Why are you still here?!" His shouting snapped her out of her silent thoughts as she looked at the dog then him. She decided to test the limits, and see if maybe she could find some common ground. Perhaps if she could get him talking, perhaps she could prevent further threats from him.

At least that's what she was telling herself. For some reason this man intrigued her. She could sense his energy, and it was eerily similar to her own. He was so mysterious. She liked to pretend the mysterious guys didn't intrigue her, but she couldn't help but want to know more about him. He was tall and in excellent shape, something that she loved about Robin's training. She got to see her boyfriend get into great shape. Something about broad shoulders and strong arms sent a chill down her spine. She had to find out more about this man… for the good of the team of course.

"I'm partially the cause for your dog's injury. Even though your temper is mostly responsible, the least I can do is help her before I leave. Besides I am not sure I quite trust that you didn't just open a portal to the middle of the Atlantic behind me. Let me heal you're her injury and then I'll leave. Deal?"

He looked at her a moment before a low chuckle began to slip out of his throat. His eyes closed as his shoulders shook. His dog's whimper immediately shut him up. Raven couldn't help but smirk at the sight of the, "big scary assassin" brought to his knees by 100 pounds of fluff.

"That's an acceptable deal, but if you go back on your part, I will make you pay."

She rolled her eyes and slowly began to walk over. She took the dog's burnt paw in her hand and began to silently cast the healing spell into her. She was surprised at the extent of damage the dogs paw had taken. It was nearly burnt to the bone. This was going to be harder than she thought. She kept transferring her energy to the canine. Slowly the whimpering ceased as the paw was no longer a deep black, but instead a red. Then from red to a slightly burnt pink. Satisfied and slightly drained from the exchange she stopped and looked up at him.

His eyes were already waiting for her. His eyes now were examining her every feature. From her dark purple hair to grayish complexion to her violet eyes. When he reached her eyes he stopped searching elsewhere. They locked eyes for a long moment, both enraptured in their own thoughts. Neither staring, just soaking in each other.

"Why do his eyes paralyze me like that? I can't help but want to keep looking into them. I feel great regret coming from him, but he shows none of it. I feel like I'm drowning in his gaze… and I don't want to be saved."

"She looks so much like her. But there's no way she could be related. That was centuries ago. Not only that, she isn't even from this universe. How could she look so much like her? How can her eyes trap me like her's used to. If feel like I'm drowning in them… and I don't want to be saved."

As they both stared into each eyes. Lexi's tail began to gently wag again, beating her master's side. She reached her head forward and licked her new friend's cheek gently. Her hazel eyes pleading from attention from Raven.

Raven snapped back into reality as the tongue touched her cheek. She looked down at the begging eyes. Raven fought back a smile and gently scratched the dog gently on the head. Lexi spurred on by this, began to lick her hand fervently. Her tail began wagging all the harder, smacking her owner loudly and violently.

He looked down at the display. How had this purple haired gothic woman managed to tame his dog merely by her presence? What's more, his dog was ignoring him for the first time since she was a little puppy. How was this possible? He glanced back at Raven and saw a shadow of a smile on her lips as her eyes lit up petting his best friend. He couldn't help but lose himself for a moment in her eyes again.

"You're a horrible liar Raven. I suppose you weakened yourself healing my dog. And don't deny it. I can sense it. You should rest before you leave. I would be a poor host if I didn't allow you some respite. Now follow me to the den." As he finished speaking he set Lexi down gently and waved his hand at her again. Raven turned and saw the portal close. Not even a shimmer left this time.

"Why are you being so polite? Aren't you in Jump City to kill us?" She stood her ground, not stopping eye contact for a moment. She couldn't figure this man out. One minute he was prepared to burn her alive, the next he's inviting her in to relax. What is his game? What is he planning?

"I never said I was here to kill you, merely your destruction. The term destruction has many meanings. Now, are you coming with me? Or, am I gonna have to send you where ever I deem worthwhile before you rest, such as the Hive academy? When someone offers you a polite gesture, don't argue it. Just be polite in return. Especially when I could kill you anytime I choose. Now, please follow me. Lexi, come on."

He turned and began to walk away with Lexi in tow. Raven slowly examined the room one more time and followed him. As she walked she took note of every detail, hopefully she could see something that would reveal where she was. There were no windows anywhere. She couldn't even see any doors. Just hallway's to other rooms.

She came to a stop at a room with two recliner's facing a brick fireplace. With an 80" flat screen plasma TV. He stood next to one of the recliner's gesturing for her to sit down. She eyed him for a moment deciding whether or not to trust him. She took a chance and sat down as he gestured. He walked over to the small kitchen and grabbed a couple of glasses and a bottle of wine. She was wondering what he was doing.

He filled both glasses about half way and brought one over to her and handed it to her and sat down on the recliner next to hers'. He took the mask halfway off, it was barely hanging on to the rest and was blocking her view of his face. He took a small draught from his glass. Raven looked at her drink and took a sip of the dark purple drink. She tried, and failed, to stifle a gasp. The wine was the finest she had ever tasted. It was pleasantly strong, a pleasant aroma with delightful aftertaste. She closed her eyes for a moment, savoring every moment of the delicious drink.

Goryo silently watched her response with a smile. She was beautiful when she smiled. She had lost her suspicions for a moment, as she lost herself in the drink. He had multiple bottles of this wine. He had become quite a collector over the centuries. This was one of his favorite wines. He kept the maker's name a secret as well as his recipe since his death ninety years prior. He had 8 bottles left and had made plans to begin starting his own vineyard at some point.

Raven slowly took another sip and opened her eyes again. She smiled again. Without thought she asked, "This is amazing. Where did you get this wine?" she immediately realized what she had said and turned her head to await the reaction from the assassin.

"I got this bottle from an old friend 132 years ago in Italy. I knew a man who was an artist with fruits. He created wines out of only the finest grapes. This bottle was one of the only five he had created that year. If even one grape was not up to his standards he would check them all again and remove all the grapes with even the smallest imperfections. The rest of his process he showed only to me before he died at the age of 97."

Raven's jaw dropped. She hadn't expected such a response. Let alone the revelation that he was at least 200 years old. Why would he reveal this much about himself? "I don't mean to be rude, but that was a much better than I had expected. Not that I'm complaining at all of course."

"I could see how much you enjoyed the wine, and I felt it was only fair for an explanation after getting that much of a positive response for my old friend's legacy. I'll make a deal with you. I will give you half an hour. In that half hour you ask me a question, and I will answer. That is, of course, unless it is one I can't answer for personal or professional reasons. In return, I ask a question and get an answer. Same rules apply. A little Quid Pro Quo. Do we have a deal?"

Raven stared into his eyes for a moment. Processing what he said. She silently began weighing the options. "On the one hand this is a perfect opportunity find out what has caused him to attack us. But, on the other side, this could be him trying to lull me into a false sense of security. He did hand me alcohol. What if he's trying to get me drunk and defenseless to take me prisoner. Beast Boy's probably already losing his mind wondering where I am."

"Deal." Raven smirked at him and took another sip of her wine as she turned herself towards Goryo. She wasn't sure why she made the deal, but for some reason she couldn't help herself. She watched as he reattached his mask and gently placed his glass down. He walked up and retrieved the bottle and filled her glass. He filled her glass and his own. He turned his recliner slightly and removed his mask entirely. He turned to face her.

Raven was lost for the third time that night. She started looking at his buzz cut brown hair. He had a pale complexion with a dark red scar running from his hairline down across his right eye all the way down to his chin. His eyes were still a near white color. Only the faintest hint of black in the center. She lost herself in his eyes again. She lost all coherent thought once more.

He couldn't help but gaze back. Her eyes drew him in deeply. He immediately felt himself go back in time. He was with her again. She was wrapped gently in a silk blanket with her arm resting against his chest. Her gorgeous violet eyes gazing lovingly into his. Her perfect breasts slowly rising and falling with each breath. His heart stopping with each breath she took, as though each time she breathed in she took a part of him with it.

A whimper brought both of them out of their revelry. They look down to see Lexi licking Raven's hand. Raven smiles gently and blushes. She reaches out and scratched her neck gently. Goryo is the first to realize where they were. "Well, I guess the first question is yours."

Raven looked up with the blush still visible. She kept scratching Lexi as she took a sip of wine. "Why didn't you kill Robin when you had a chance? You could have anytime you wanted. Why?"

Goryo quietly sat for a moment. "I had no reason to kill him. He fought much better than I had anticipated. I put him down when I did because I realized if he had been allowed to keep going he would have either severely injured himself or gotten himself killed trying too hard to beat me. I didn't want that. He has great potential. I want to see him reach that, and fight him then."

Raven sat contemplating this. Was that his whole reason for all this? Just for the sake of a good fight? if that was all he was looking for, why not go after Batman or Slade? Someone who was better than Robin. She would have to ask that later.

"Alright, it's your turn now Goryo." Raven waited for his question.

"Very well. Do you know of places of ancient summoning rituals? And before you assume something bad, I'm not looking for power. I'm searching for one site in particular."

Raven took another drink of her wine and watched him for a moment before deciding how to answer. She decided the truth was the best. "I do know of a few. Only from my readings. The 2 I know of personally are from the Trigun crisis."

Goryo nodded his understanding and motioned for Raven to take her turn. She thought about her next question. She wanted to ask why he chose Robin, but immediately thought better of it. "He probably wouldn't tell me anyway."

She contemplated for a moment before she asked her next question, it had been nagging in the corner of her mind for a while now. She couldn't help but notice he looked at her the same way Beast Boy had, only his look wasn't loving it was sorrowful. Regret seeped out of his whole being the longer he looked at her each time he had.

"Why do I sense so much sorrow and regret from you everytime we make eye contact?"

Goryo quietly looked into the fire. The pain that eminated from him threatened to drown Raven. She could feel her own heart breaking as he quietly watched the fire crackle across the logs. After a long pause he took a slow drink from his glass and turned back to her. She could see the pain in his eyes, even though none of his face showed any emotion.

"I believe the half hour is over. But, to remain fair, I will answer your question. Even though I will not tell you everything. 283 years ago. I lived in Italy. Where, exactly, I will not say. But at the time I was not the mercenary you see before you. I was a member of the elite blades to the pope. Not in Rome, my job was far different. You see, back then the church had an order of assassins. Our job was to prevent the spread of destruction. Demons are very real as you know. Those of us with the gifts or curses, as some may see it, were secretly conscripted to join the Beatus Laminis. That is latin, for the blessed blades. We traveled the world and sought out users of dark magic's and demonic powers.

"For 23 years I had fought with my brothers in arms to eliminate the evils of the world, at least evil as the church saw them. One day we had encountered a woman on our mission to eliminate a secret coven of witches. They had been trying to summon the prince of darkness himself. This woman had been horribly tortured for all the rituals conducted in his name. When we found her she was bleeding profusely and unable to stand. When I walked over to help her we were ambushed by demons. A small group, but each were incredibly powerful. Two of my brothers died in seconds. By the end of the battle only 3 of us remained. My commander, Leonardo, came to me where I was protecting her. Despite all she had suffered and all my efforts to protect this innocent as we were charged to do, he ordered me to slay her."

"I can see the look of confusion in your eyes at this. As blessed blades we were to never be seen by any. Along with that law we also couldn't allow any who had even witnessed a dark ritual to live. We were the last resort, and as a last resort we were forced to do horrible things to prevent the spread of evil. Including, the destruction of innocents."

"I refused. I told him I had never taken an innocent before this and I would be damned to hell before I would start now. My commander wasn't pleased with this. He raised his blade to strike her down but I stopped him. We fought to a standstill, all the while, our comrade sat back and silently watched. After a long fight we both agreed to let her live in secret under my protection and jurisdiction. Any ramifications that came from that would be on my head alone. A burden I gladly took."

"I took her back to my small village after our mission was complete. I will say no more as to how long she lived on my estate, or the nature of our relationship. But I will tell you why I feel such pain when I see you. Adelaide looked almost exactly like you. She was a little taller, and she had a different skin tone, but every other trait is remarkably similar. The eyes she would look at me with mirror yours. I have never forgotten what she looked like. And, her eyes, they haunt my every thought. I failed to protect her. That is why feel such regret."

Raven looked back to her now empty glass. She could feel his heart breaking repeatedly as he told each excrutiating detail. She knew that, even though he refused to say it, he loved her. So much so that even three centuries later the thought of her broke his heart.

"Come Raven. Your friends must be worried about you by now. Follow me to the portal room and I will send you home." With that he stood up and put his mask back on. Lexi stopped her licking of Ravens hand and followed him. Raven placed the glass on the counter and followed him.

They walked in silence to the room and, with a wave, a portal was opened anew. She walked toward it slowly. Lexi whimpered at her, not wishing her to leave. Regardless, Raven turned and patted her one more time and looked up at the man before her. He was an emotionless mask again. She looked for a long moment, before speaking.

"Thank you for the wine. I'm sorry for the pain you are suffering. I wish we had met under different terms. You know that as soon as I walk through the portal, I will have to help my friends hunt you down and take you to jail for the destruction and damage you caused."

Goryo nodded and motioned to the portal. Raven turned and walked through the portal. The memory of the single tear running down his face stuck in her mind.


	6. The Anniversary

**Hey guys. First off. This is kinda a short chapter. I know I'm a day behind but hey, I think this is too important of a chapter to let just go too early. If you guys are still reading at this point, thanks for reading and I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. Any reviews or suggestions would be much appreciated.**

**The Burning Darkness**

**Chptr 6**

**The Anniversary**

As Raven exited the portal she took a moment to get her bearings. She could see a clear, cloudless star dotted sky. The inky blackness carpeted with beautiful white gems, sparkling and lighting up the darkness. She looked up at the twinkling lights trying to get an idea of her location. The stars looked exactly the same as the stars she would lay on the roof of the tower. Bright white lights shining through the infinite darkness.

She turned her gaze earthbound. She looked across the darkened waters of the bay. Waves crashing against the shoreline in their infinite pull by the moon. A cooling breeze sliding across surface of the water caressing her cheeks gently. The hot summer day had given in to the cooling darkness of the night. The oceans breeze drifting effortlessly across land and sea cooling all in its path. Gently kissing the sweat across her brow.

Raven looked around and recognized the tell tale landmarks of her home. The rock where Garfield had first asked her nervously on a date. The beach where she had consoled him after his first dealing with the Beast. The driveway where she had her first kiss with him after their first date.

Raven couldn't help but smile at the memories. She loved taking a moment every now and then to remember the moments of her life where she had forgotten herself and existed in the moment. However fleeting those moments may have been. She looked up at the tower to see the lights shining out into the darkened bay.

She slowly turned and walked over to the main doors of the Tower. Upon reaching the door, she typed her entrance code in, and walked in. The main hall was darkened. She knew the only time the hall was darkened was when the Titans were asleep or on a mission. Since the lights were on a mission seemed the most likely solution. Good. She just wanted to take a few minutes to decide how to tell Robin all she had learned from their new adversary.

Raven opened up a portal and teleported herself to the common room. As she exited the portal she saw Robin and Starfire asleep in each other's arms with a movie's credits playing.

"That's odd. Usually after a beating like that Robin would be obsessing with learning everything about his opponent. "Raven thought quietly to herself.

She turned to see no sign of Cyborg or Beast Boy. Cyborg was most likely either working on his car, or using his holo ring to go out on the town and hit a few clubs. He did this at least 1 a week. As much as Cyborg ignored the fact, he was incredibly lonely. He was always the fifth wheel. Sure, he had tried dating Bumblebee and even Jinx for a while. Eventually, both of those relationships faltered. Bee had decided they just weren't compatible, while Jinx had left him for Kid Flash. Neither relationship had crushed him. But, they had both left him realizing not everyone just lucks into a happy relationship like his four best friends had.

Raven began to walk towards her room as quietly as possible. As she walked, she sent her senses out searching for her boyfriend. She could sense him in her room. She shook her head as she contemplated what he was doing in there. Probably sitting up waiting for her and slowly beginning to freak out about it.

She reached her door and braced herself for either a jealous or upset boyfriend. She opened her door to a surprising sight. The candles on her desk and around her bed had been lit. Their gentle orange flames licking slowly at the wicks. There were white tulip petals covering her bed and a gentle trail leading to the door. She smiled as she saw her lover standing at the end of the bed with a bottle of her favorite wine and two glasses with a table set up.

On the table was a single bright candle. Surrounding the candle was a nice white sheet. There were 2 plates of their favorite meals. And by favorite meals she knew it was take out. Garfield could cook his tofu and other vegan foods but could never cook her favorite meal. She looked at her favorite Italian dish from Olive Garden waiting for her. Somehow, she could still see a little steam rising from the lasagna.

Garfield walked over to her and motioned quietly to take her seat. She walked over as he took her cloak of gently. She sat in the chair and watched him place the glasses down and fill them full of the delicious white wine. After he had completed his task, he took his seat directly across from her.

"Aren't you going to ask what took me so long Gar? I was gonna be back sooner, but got distracted in my investigation. I'm sorry. By the way, what's behind all this? What's the occasion for such a sweet gesture?"

Raven blurted all that out a little quicker than she had meant to. She blushed slightly, realizing she was actually swept off her feet. This was one of the sweetest dates she had been on with him in quite some time and it caught her off guard. Usually Gar couldn't keep a secret as well as he had this time and it almost always slipped. All she had to do was give him her sweetest look and he was putty in her hands.

"Well Rae, you may have forgotten that tomorrow is our 2 year anniversary. But, I have not. Knowing that tomorrow Robin is going to lead us on one hell of a chase for Goryo, I stepped up my plans for tomorrow. I got everything ready about half an hour ago and have been waiting patiently. I knew you'd be fine, even if I didn't like leaving you behind. I even dressed nice for once. And no compliments on my suit, I see how it is." He ended with a clearly fake pout.

"You look dashing Gar. I love all of this. I love you. Thank you for this. I know our anniversary last year was wrecked by Slade, but this more than makes up for it." Raven genuinely smiled. She loved it when he would do these romantic gestures. They weren't very frequent but were genuine and often surprising. She looked up into his eyes. She could see him wrestling with something. He always had a distant look in his eyes whenever he had something on his mind.

"What are you thinking about Gar? I know that look." Raven asked quietly as she picked up her silverware.

"I was just deciding whether to add parmesan to my tofu or not. Anyway, I have another surprise after dinner anyway. I was just deciding whether to spoil it or not. But I think this one's worth waiting for." He smiled as he took the first taste of his food.

They sat for quite a while, quietly enjoying their dinners and had a pleasant conversation. They both had a wonderful time. Both of their eyes kept going from each other to the bed. They both had… neglected their needs this week in honor of their anniversary. They had decided a little bit of celibacy would make it more special. They both wanted some release and such a romantic night like this got both of them ready to end the date where they both knew it would end up.

Beast Boy finished his meal shortly after her. He took both of their dishes with a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll take these to the kitchen. Under the bed is part of your surprise. Love you." He turned and walked away as she slowly stood to see what he had left for her. Under her bed was a long box. It was about 3' long by 1.5' wide. She gently undid the bow and took the lid of the flat box. Inside was a beautiful white robe and leotard. She knew that Garfield had secretly loved her white costume both times he had seen it. She had even mentioned switching costumes as her powers developed.

He had gone to some great lengths to obtain this costume. It was made of the exact same material as all her other costumes. She smiled as she held it in her hands and admired its craftsmanship. It was soft but very durable. She loved the feeling of the lining on the inside of her suit.

Raven jumped as a pair of hand silently slipped around her waist. She turned, only to have Garfield catch her lips in his own. She immediately dropped the outfit and wrapped her arms around him. His tongue ran across her lips, which she immediately accepted. As their tongues wrestled against each other, they kept moving closer to the bed until Raven felt his hands slide to her waist and push her back gently.

She looked up at him with hungry eyes. She needed him now, and she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle the teasing he seemed like he was prepared to do.

"Rae. I love you so much. I have been trying so hard to keep my plans a secret from you for this night. I have something very important I want to ask you." He said this as his hand slid from her waist to his pocket.

In her lust fueled haze she didn't notice as his eyes went from one of lust to nervousness. She only knew in that moment whatever question he asked had better be damn good for it to stop how excited she was.

Garfield slowly pulled a small black box out of his pocket as he dropped to his right knee. Raven's mind slowly began to come back to her as realization dawned on her. She knew what was coming in the back of her mind. She lost all her breath and her lust disappeared as her mind went blank as the bright jewel was slowly revealed.

"Rachel Roth. Will you marry me?"


	7. The Proposal

**Hey guys. I"M Back! sorry for the two week delay. This last 2 weeks has been ridiculous. Between a broken laptop and a 70 hour work week I have been scrambling to get this chapter up. I Apologize sincerely. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it. And i am currently working on the next chapter and will hopefully be posted in the next day or two. And, as always, please read, enjoy and review. Have a good one!**

**The Burning Darkness**

**Chptr 7**

**The Proposal**

Raven's jaw dropped. She was standing in her room staring at her boyfriend and best friend. She had had one of the most romantic dates of her life. She had received a gift that she had deeply wanted for a few years. To top off this wonderful night, Garfield had proposed. The green changling was on his knee holding up a beautiful engagement ring that shined spectacularly in the flickering candle light.

Raven's eyes were glued to the ring before her. She slowly released a breath that she didn't realize she had been holding. She loved everything. This night had been perfect. There was only one flaw with this perfect evening.

She wasn't ready. It wasn't that she didn't want to marry beast boy. She had thought about it many times. She even allowed the occasional fantasy about having kids with him someday. She loved him and would love to spend the rest of her life with him. Just; not starting now. They were still titans. How could she and him have a peaceful wedded life together when they were putting their lives on the line on an at least weekly basis. He was already a nervous wreck whenever it came to her getting even a minor injury. She could only imagine how that'd intensify if she was wearing a ring.

Speaking of rings, that'd be a horrible idea. Any intelligent villain would see the ring and immediately use one of them to hurt the other. They had done a great job keeping their relationship a secret from the outside world, but putting on wedding bands would only make it obvious. She wasn't always the most traditional person when it came to a relationship, but she always wanted to be able to wear a ring and show the world that someone could love her enough to marry her. Show that she isn't just some demoness, she's a person that deserves love.

"ahem, Earth to Rachel. Are you still there?" Garfields voice broke her out of her haze. Her eyes snapped back to his face. His eyes were full of hope and love. He only want to hear one word from her and had waited god knows how long for her to answer. She could see the nervousness slowly begin to slip behind his eyes.

"Oh Gar… I love it so much. I love you so much. This is all so overwhelming." She stalled. She knew her answer already. Bu she just needed some time to come up with the best anwer. If she was to direct she'd break his heart. If she beat around the bush he'd think she was just toying with him. She needed to formulate the perfect answer.

"I'm glad you enjoyed the night Rae, but I would like an answer to my question, my knee's starting to hurt haha." He let out a humorless chuckle. She could tell he was just trying to ease the tension that was forming around his heart. She needed to answer him now.

"I don't know yet Gar." That was stupid, she berated herself silently. "This I a huge decision. I need time. I'm sorry if that's not the answer you expected. I hope you aren't mad at me." She looked down at him with tears threatening to slip out. She needed to stay strong. The last thing she wanted was to see him more upset than he would be.

His eyes lost their shine as he looked back at the ring in his hands. He slowly brought the smile back to his face and looked at her again. "it's ok Rae. I know you don't wanna rush into such a major change. And I understand that you would want to take some time to think about it. I was hoping for a quick answer but, I guess you aren't ready yet. Just promise me you'll think about it ok?"

She smiled sadly at him. She felt horrible for not telling him the answer she was going to give him. She had to let him know soon. She didn't want him to stress him out worrying about her answer. "I promise I will Gar. Promis me you won't stress out about it ok?"

He smiled more genuinely, and nodded. "I promise to try. That's the best I can do ok? Now, would you like to finish this date the way that we were about to?" he wiggled his eyebrow and ears at her with a smirk. He knew she thought it was adorable and would probably give him what he wanted.

Raven smirked and slowly bent to his level. She looked into his eyes, and sensually said, "I think that you may have to remind me whatever it is you are talking about Logan." She brushed her finger along his chin as she stood back up and walked over towards the bed. Swaying her hips the whole way. When she reached the bed she unclipped the cloak and let it drop to the floor. She knew he loved her hips and ass the out of all her features. So she used them against him at every opportunity.

She could feel the lust building up in her man. She knew he want very good at controlling himself whenever she felt like teasing him. Tonight she felt like making his teasing extra good, after all he had created a wonderful anniversary date for her. He had earned a special treat. She turned around slowly. She lifted on hand as her eyes began to glow.

He was lifted onto the bed and a set of handcuffs was attached to his wrists and the bed frame. He tried playfully to remove himself from his shackles. He looked back up at her with a seductive growl that sent a chill down her spine. "I think you know exactly where we were and what you plan to do next."

She smile sensually and turned on some music with a flick of a wrist. She began to sway with the dance. Hands running up and down her body. After following the beat for a minute she began to unzip her leotard. As soon as it was unzipped she turned her back to him as she slid it slowly down her body, revealing she was only wearing a tight pair of boy shorts and nothing else underneath. She looked back at him with a wink. She couldn't help but take a second to stare at the tent he was pitching for her show.

Raven loved the way she could get him excited so easily. It was the only sure way she found that would get him to shut up and only focus where she wanted. Right now his eyes were exactly where she wanted them. On her ass. She loved her hips. They were the one part of her anatomy that made her feel sexy and his eyes were glued to them. She began o shake and move her body with the music. She danced and ran her hands along her body. She wanted to tempt him as much as possible. Wanted him desperate. Wanted that animal to take over. She couldn't explain it but she loved being taken. Loved having him worked up to the point where instincts take over and he just takes her completely. And,tonight, she needed the animal.

After she finished her dance for him she slipped her underwear off. She turned back to him and was pleasantly surprised by the sight. He had shattered the handcuffs and stripped. His bared body and erect nine inch member focused intently on her. She had unleashed the beast. The sight of him barely holding back in front of her, excited her in a very primal way. With one last act of mock defiance she smirked at him and said, "What are you waiting for beastie? I'm over here."

He clearly wasn't holding back anymore as he rushed her and lifted her u, then tossed her roughly onto the bed. She stared back at him as he moved between her legs and began kissing up her thighs. After leaving a little trail up her inner thigh he began to gently massage her nub making her shiver and moan in excitement. She kept her eyes on him as he slid his fingers along her folds making her shiver and groan her agreement even louder. His first finger slid deep into her as his lips continued their ministrations on her clit. Her back arched at the penetration. She groaned and grabbed his hair trying to force him to do more to her. He immediately obliged.

His tounge began to flick her swollen bud quickly and a second finger forced itself into her. He bang to slide them in and out making her squirm and moan loudly for more. He kept going till he could tell she was about to burst. Then he abrubtly stopped and kissed up her body till he reached her lips. She greedily grabbed his lips with hers and pulled him closer which caused half of him to plunge deep into her. With a gasp she shivered as he began to pump into her. He body immediately began to match his rithymn. Each thrust pushed him deeper till she felt him hilt himself into her. She bit his shoulder to stop the scream from her orgasm from escaping. She rode the wave of pleasure till it began to subside.

He took the hint and pulled out and flipped her over. She got onto her hands and knees and presented herself to him. He didn't wait a moment before plunging all the way into her again. Her head jerked up as she bucked wildly. She could feel another orgasm building as a finger began to probe her backdoor. As soon as it penetrated she screamed out another orgasm. She loved every second of it. And tonight was just getting started…

The next morning Raven woke later than usual. Her whole body was sore and tender. She could feel each hickey on her neck and each bruise from where he had groped her roughly. Overall… second best sex she ever had. Next only to that night she, Starfire and Garfield had gotten hammered after an intense fight that had cause Star and Robin to break up for a few weeks. That was a night Garfield had forgotten thanks to the alcohol, but not the Tamaranian or the Demoness. They had barely spoken for a week after that. She had felt awkward and Star had felt guilty, believing that that had counted as cheating on Robin.

Raven turned to see him covered him in bruises and scratches of his own. She smirked, "_Good, if I have to be covered in hickeys and have the team stare at me, then he does too."_ She thought happily.

"Garfield, wake up. We gotta get cleaned up and meet the team downstairs." With that she kissed him hard and got up to get showered. He groaned at waking up earlier than he wanted but watched her limp slightly to the shower. He couldn't help but feel proud of himself. Not every night could he love her up so much she passed out without dressing.

"This is gonna be a great day," he thought to himself with a devious smirk as he rushed to the bathroom for round two.

Meanwhile, deep underground, Goryo had finished his meditations and sent a message through the criminal syndicates throughout the city. The next phase of his plan was beginning. He would soon test each member of the Titans in the best ways he could imagine. He would fulfill his contract, no matter how the Demoness had shaken his core and reminded him of his lost love.


	8. The Tests

**Hey Everyone! Late Merry Christmas. Got an extra long chapter here for you guys. Hope you all had a good holiday. Please enjoy the story, and please leave a review. I'd love some feedback and some suggestions. **

**The Burning Darkness**

**Chapter 8**

**The Tests **

Raven and Beast Boy collapsed onto their bed. Three weeks of constant patrols and combat had exhausted the Titans. For some reason all of the organized crime in the area had begun to skyrocket out of control. There were thefts, assaults, arson, extortion, and muggings blanketing the city. It seemed as though every single criminal that was apprehended only caused 3 more to spring up out of their place. Raven was reminded of the hydra of Greek mythology. Every time they thought they had cut the head of the criminal racket, several more hotspots would show up. No matter how bad the pathetic petty criminals got the worse had sprung up earlier that day. The prison had been busted wide open, and not just the local prison, they maximum security prison. The very one where all of the most powerful criminals they had ever apprehended had been sent. Today alone, Raven's and Beast boy's patrols had to contend with Plasmus, Mumbo, and Cinderblock.

Robin had realized that they couldn't handle all of the new criminal outbreaks without help. He had brought the Titans East in. With the surge in hero help they had slowly begun to make a dent in the crime spree. With Kid Flash and Jinx's combined work they managed to hold their patrol's quite well. Cyborg and Bumblebee had managed to hold a strong ten hour patrol as well. Robin and Star had suffered some injuries due to a surprise attack from Dr. Light. No serious injuries, but enough to put them out early. This meant that Raven and Beast boy were forced into a double shift to cover for the loss of the teammates.

After 20 straight hours and several intense battles, the duo was horribly exhausted. They had returned from their shifts with only a bed in mind. They didn't even bother changing before collapsing onto his bed and passing out almost immediately. Unfortunately, their sleep wasn't enough, 4 short hours into their fatigued recuperation they were interrupted with a siren blaring. With a groan both heroes rushed to the control room.

On the big screen was a figure cloaked in darkness. Surrounding him were various videos playing. Two of which were maso y menos tied to chairs, with another of Aqualad beaten and unconscious on the floor of the titans east tower. The mysterious figure gestured to the images playing in front of the team. "As you can see the titans of East were no match for me. I would suggest the members in your city return home. They will need medical care. Hopefully next time they will be worth the effort I take to defeat them."

Bumblebee looked on in anger while Kid Flash and Jinx were shocked beyond reason. They had never seen their tower breached like this and Aqualad was in horrible shape. If they didn't return soon he was going to be in even worse shape. Bumble bee quickly turned to Kid Flash, "get back there now, get Aqualad into the medical center, I'll be back their shortly. Jinx, get into the ship, we are headed home now." With a nod both Titans nodded and bolted out of the room as fast as their legs would carry them.

Bumblebee turned to Robin with a sorry expression, "Sorry Robin, we have to go take care of our own. We'll return as soon as the tower is re-secured." With a nod from Robin she turned and headed towards their ship as fast as she could.

The figure had remained silent the whole time. As soon as Bee was out of earshot he resumed speaking. "Now that all those distractions are out of the way I have a bit of a game for you. If you look on the screens now surrounding me you will see five explosive devices. Each one of them is rigged in a specific manner. Each designed for one and only one of you to disarm. Now, before you go running off to find them, they all have specially designed sensors. These sensors tell the detonators who is within proximity. If the wrong person enters their proximity, they will immediately detonate. To also make the game a bit more interesting, they are all on a 1 hour timer. And, this is truly the challenging part; they must all be disarmed within 2 minutes of each other. Otherwise, they will all reactivate and detonate. Each one is filled with 2000 pounds of high explosives. When they detonate they will wipe out the city. Starting at the end of this transmission you will have 1 hour to find and disarm them. Good luck Titans, I am eager to see if you're skills are all they are made out to be.

With those last words the image of the man disappeared and was replaced with the five videos of the bombs and a timer starting at 1:00:00. The team looked at the videos playing on the screen. They all looked as though they were either underground or in buildings. This narrowed it down slightly for them, but not by much. No villain would be stupid enough to just set bombs that big down just out in the open.

"Alright team. We need to figure out the bombs locations first then we will figure out who's based on their locations. Most likely if what he said is true, then the locations will be the clues for who has to disarm them. As we watched the video there were a few hints within. The first hint I was in the top most video. It had an American flag waving in and out of view. There are very few places that a bomb would be placed and had a flag waving. Most likely, when he said destroy the city, he meant starting with the city's infrastructure. So it is either at city hall or one of the courthouses."

"So, we know where the first one is. On the video that was bottom right there was condensation forming around the view of the camera. Most likely it was underwater somewhere. There's a damn about five miles upriver. If that thing bursts, half the city will be flooded." Beast boy stated with surprising insight. Sometimes everyone forgot he not only had a brain, but he was actually quite intelligent.

Raven smiled approvingly. She didn't see his smart side that often, but she enjoyed seeing it when she did. It was sort of like his mission to see her smile. She tightened her grip on his hand to show her approval. He turned, smiled, and held her hand tighter as well.

"Good catch Beast Boy. I agree with you. Now the last 3 locations. There's probably a clue in the videos again. Cyborg, run an analysis on the remaining videos. We'll keep searching for visual clues."

"On it man." Cyborg began downloading all 3 videos and processing them on his computer while the other three videos began playing on the screen in a loop. Ten minutes went by before anyone said anything. They couldn't catch a damn thing till Cyborg stood up and sent his updated analysis back up to the screen. The video that was originally on the bottom left was fuzzy now with a light binary code running near the bottom of the screen.

"The fuzzy one on the left is at the power plant. The code playing at the bottom is the transmission number for the camera model. They have cheap camera systems since it is an older plant. It supplies power to most of the city. I'm assuming that that one was most likely meant for me being I'm the only one that could actually find the code." Cyborg with both pride and a small amount of chagrin.

"So what's left. We have the cities power grid, the water supply, and the seat of government. That most likely means what's left is communications and something else. I noticed during the loops there was a lag in the video on the top right. Most likely caused by the satellites in orbit. He most likely has a bomb set in the servers set in the main hub. The only problem with that is that about 30 miles out of town. That's way too far away to work properly. Cyborg, find out where that signal originated from if you can." Robin was beginning to sweat. He needed to find these last two bombs.

"I already did while you were talking Rob, but you aren't gonna believe where it's comin from. It's comin from the satellite in orbit. He managed to plant the thing up there somehow. I'll bet you that one's meant for Star. She's the only one who could get up to it quick enough and survive in space."

"Yes, I agree with friend Cyborg. That would be where I'd be best suited. I also am believing that the bomb at the damn is meant for beast boy. His aquatic forms would be best suited for that area. Also, the government building is meant for you Robin. As the team leader it would be making of the senses for you to be the one to go to the hall of the city." Starfire finished all this with a small look of pride, it wasn't often she was the one to decipher such a clue. She couldn't help but enjoy the small victory while she could.

Robin nodded in agreement. "I think your right Star. Now the last area must be for Raven then. The site most likely has to do with her powers, or personality; as well as its necessity for the city. We just need to figure out where."

Raven just stared at the remaining video. Something was incredibly familiar. She couldn't place it. After a few moments of staring she got an idea. "Cyborg, can you pull up a map of the city on the screen. After you do that I need you to place markers for the damn, the power plant, and the geosynchronous position of the satellite."

Cyborg nodded and within a minute all she had requested was showing on the screen. The dots showed the power plant being just a few miles northeast of the city. The damn was about five miles south east of the city. The geosyncronus satellite's position showed it on the south west corner. City hall was smack dab in the center of the city. If all the bombs detonated they would all take out about a fifth of the city. This meant the remaining bomb must be located in the north west corner. Cyborg looked at her waiting for his next cue.

"The bombs located at the college near the coast. It would fit because I am known l for my love of books. That spot also most likely leaves the section of the city untouched by the other ones wrecked, and since most of population in that area lives at the university, it would effectively destroy a fifth of the population. Before you say it Robin, the section covered by the satellite would be destroyed by the satellite due to a bomb being strapped to it and it somehow being forced out of orbit into the city. The whole city would be destroyed by five well placed explosives.

Robin nodded his agreement. He didn't like it, the last time he separated his team like he had to now, Terra had nearly killed them all. As much as he wished he had a choice he didn't. Star would reach the satellite in just a couple minutes, cyborg could use the Tship to reach the plant as quickly. He and beast boy could just take their bikes to their locations and Raven could teleport.

"Alright team. We know where we are going. Let's get there quick, and as soon as we arrive, then we all go straight to our communicators and let each other know we have arrived. No one do anything rash. Titans, GO!"

With that command; Cyborg turned and sprinted for the ship. Star and Robin kissed before she exploded out an open window at full speed. Robin was headed straight to the garage with Beast Boy on his heels after a passionate kiss with his girlfriend. "We'll get them Rae, don't worry. I love you. See you soon."

Raven watched him leave before she pulled her hood up and teleported to the library of the college. She begain searching with avengance. Every nook and cranny was checked as she turned the university inside out. After a while she began to feel slightly light headed. Before she could address it she heard her communicator going off. She picked it up and was on a five way chat with her team. They all had reached their locations.

Robin spoke up immediately, "Alright team, I have located my bomb. Every one, sound off."

"Cyborg on sight and prepped. Bomb is in site."

"I'm on location live. Reporting a big metal tubey thingy. I am guessing that's the bomb."

"I am also the ready. Satellite is in sight. But I see someome else here…" with a gasp of surprise Starfire's eyes immediately turned green. "Blackfire is here as well. She must be aiding this mystery man. I will attempt to confront her. Starfire out."

Starfire cut out and Cyborgs screen shook. A look of surprise took over his features. "Atlas is here. This is a super villain clusterfuck man. I"ll call if I need help. Cyborg out!"

Beast Boy heard a noise and behind him stood Adonis with a collar on. He looked at beast boy with a look of sorrow as sparks began running across the collar. "I'm sorry beast wimp. But, I cant stop the beast." With a roar of pain and rage Adonis transformed into the beast. He grew to 8 feet tall. His arms doubled in length and became covered with fur and claws. His face shifted into an elongated snout filled with daggers for teeth. His snarl brought back unwanted memories to the shape shifter. He knew he could never take Adonis without doing the same. He didn't want to do that again. He couldn't.

Raven watched in horror as an earsplitting roar came through the communicator. She knew that sound, it still haunted her dreams to this day. She watched her lover's communicator drop as a second beast began to appear. Before the camera stood two great beasts. Each one primal and blood thirsty. Both knew the other to be a threat to their territory and mate, thusly, they must be eliminated.

Raven's communicator was shut off suddenly as a glowing black hand closed the communicator. She looked up and saw four glowing red eyes under a red cape staring maliciously at her. "Glad to see me?"

Raven dropped the communicator as she looked on in surprise. "Rage. How did you get out?"


	9. Inner Demons

**Hey guys. For those of you have kept up with the story so far, i want to say thanks. This has been a lot of fun to write and i hope that you are enjoying it. I spent the last week rewriting this chapter numerous times trying to get the tests just right and i hope they came out as well as i hope. As always, please review and enjoy.**

**The Burning Darkness**

**Chapter 9**

**Inner Demons**

Raven stood in horror. Before her stood her inner rage. She knew the face, the glowing eyes, and the long red cloak. It was exactly as she remembered it. How did Rage get out of her mind? "What are you doing out, Rage? How did you get out of my mind?!"

Rage merely smiled and began walking away from Raven. Raven attempted to use her powers to stop her emoticlone, but nothing happened. She looked down at her hands and then back up at her enemy. She was slowly fading into the shadows without as much as a backwards glance. Raven began to follow her slowly. She knew she couldn't allow rage to travel about unescorted.

Raven followed rage to a shelf full of children's books. Rage smiled menacingly at Raven. "I will always be here Raven you may try to get rid of your darkness, but you will never get rid of me." As she finished her sentence her hands began to glow. Slowly the books from the surrounding shelves began to lift slowly off the shelves. Once they had gotten a few inches from the shelves they all began to ignite. Slowly all the books in the library turned to ash. Book by book, shelf by shelf, row by row, all the collected knowledge was systematically destroyed before her eyes.

Raven could see all the needless destruction at the hands of her emotion and she couldn't take it. She cherished books, worshipped knowledge, especially in a house of learning. She began to dig deep, she needed her powers now. She couldn't allow such a travesty to take place. She searched every facet of her training. She could feel the darkness begin to surge within her. The tsunami of emotion began to burst forth. Every portion of dark energy she could bring to bear to stop her emotion from the destruction. She stopped the burning of the books and launched a wave of energy at the emoticlone.

When the energy reached the emotion, she became cloaked in darkness and disappeared. Raven immediately levitated and began searching for her clone. She turned and watched a black tentacle moving swiftly towards her face. She had no time to react as the whip hit her face and sent her sprawling across the room. Before she had a chance to recover, she felt dark energy cover her body and lift her. She couldn't move as her body was slammed repeatedly around the room. Shelves were destroyed as her body smashed into them. Books and pages flew around the room with each and every impact. After a beating that seemed to go on too long for Raven's understanding, she was dropped on her face in front of the children's shelf.

She lifted her head slowly and turned to the clone. Raven's eyes widened as her realization dawned on her. The clone was missing a piece. The one remaining functioning light in the room was shining down on the clone. The only portion of the beam on the clones foot, or what would have been a foot if it was there. Raven knew what had happened. The same chemical that had hit Robin and made him see Slade when he wasn't. The clone wasn't there. She had done all this to herself.

Raven began to forcibly lift herself up. She closed her eyes and refused to acknowledge the clone. She would not believe what her eyes were telling her. "I will not fall for this again. My mind is my own." Raven entered the lotus position and entered a healing trance. She didn't need to heal her wounds; she needed to get this chemical out of her body. "I hope this works." Was her last thought as she mentally left the world.

Robin burst through the window of city hall with bow staff drawn and prepared for a fight. The room before him was empty. The only thing he could see was a faint outline of a man leaning against a rafter in the ceiling. Robin stood and looked up at the man. "Come down here, you're going to jail for collaborating with this terrorist action."

The figure jumped off the rafters and into the light. Robin's eyes widened in shock as Slade entered the light. "Robin. You should know better than this, entering an obvious trap without scouting it out first. Time may be against you Robin, but foolishness will cost you your life if you don't figure that out."

Robin entered a fighting stance, "Slade. The destruction of the city isn't your usual M.O. why are you doing this?"

"You have no idea what my plans are Robin. The threat against the city was just the bait. I already have what I want. I have all the Titans busy. You here, cyborg at a power plant against atlas, Starfire fighting her sister, beast boy fighting the beast, and Raven is… taking a little time to catch up with herself. The one problem here is that you can't see what plans I really have in store. But, enough catching up, it's time for what you clearly have been waiting for."

With that Slade charged forward faster than he ever had. His right elbow connected with Robin dead center in the chest, sending him flying into the wall twenty feet behind him. With a cry of surprise and pain he bounced off the wall onto the floor. That was definitely a broken rib. He got up shakily and readied his staff.

He took a defensive stance as Slade slowly began to walk over to him. Robin couldn't help but get the feeling something was wrong with this. After a hit like that Slade would always gloat. At least when he was still active. He hadn't been causing problems in years. He had been around the globe, supposedly taking up mercenary contracts again. What caused him to suddenly change again?

Slade charged him and they began their fight anew. Each time Robin attacked Slade would dodge or deflect as he always did. What was making this fight even stranger was Slade wasn't using a weapon himself. Usually he would have pulled out a staff himself by now. Something was wrong.

Robin saw an opening in Slade's defense and took it. He slammed his staff on the ground and used it as leverage to kick Slade with both feet directly in the chin, sending him flying across the room. Robin landed from his flip and retracted his staff. "Who are you? You are not Slade. Why are you posing as him?"

His opponent rose to his feet slowly. He stretched his arms as he went. "That took less time to figure out than I expected. I thought I would have to reveal myself without prompting. Quite impressive Robin. I think you know who I am already. But, to save time, I'll show you." With that he immediately lit on fire, and the armor covering his body melted around him. Revealing Goryo.

"I knew you had to be behind this. You disappeared for weeks for no reason, about the same time the crime spree began. Why are you doing this?"

"I have my reasons boy, but you will have to find the out yourself. I am impressed about one thing though. Despite your injuries from your battle with Doctor Light and 3 cracked ribs, you not only held your own against me, but you actually managed to land a blow that would floor most any opponent. Granted it didn't stop me, but it was rather impressive. I think you've earned a little reward."

Goryo pulled a controller out of his belt and pressed a button. A large screen descended from the ceiling and a video began playing. It was split into four screens. Each one had a picture of one of his teammates. They were all fighting some of their toughest adversaries. Raven was in the lotus position in a dark room, she was bruised and bloodied. Starfire was in a battle with her sister… it wasn't going well. Blackfire had always been more adept at space combat than her sister. Cyborg was seemingly wrestling with atlas. Neither one had the upper hand, despite the differences in size. Beast boy's battle chilled Robin's blood as he looked on.

The two beasts circled each other. Both were torn up very badly. Adonis was missing an eye and The beast was limping with what was easily a crushed ankle. They both were beaten and bloody. Neither one seemed to acknowledge their injuries any more than their bodies forced them to.

With a howl, The Beast charged. His elongated arms carrying most of his weight. Adonis seemed unable to decide how to react. Most likely by now the blood loss was beginning to take effect and his now weakened state and missing eye was more than enough to slow his reaction time down drastically.

The beast tackled him full force and they both went into the wall hard. Adonis was suffering from blood loss and had lost much of his strength, but that didn't stop him from biting down hard on his opponent's shoulder. The beast wasn't in much better shape. He had a broken ankle that caused him to lose his mobility and ability to keep his balance. The jaw now wrapped around his shoulder caused him to howl in agony.

Adonis began shaking his head, much like a wolf, trying to tear a chunk out of The beast. The beast grabbed Adonis's jaw and managed to get his shoulder free. The loss of the pinning arm gave Adonis what he needed to throw him off of him. The both tumbled to the floor and began biting, slashing, gouging, and ripping at each other. Neither could land a definitive blow, but any bystander could tell the green was losing quickly.

With a vicious blow from his right claw Adonis managed to stun The Beast long enough to get a bite on his now unprotected right bicep. With a terrible ripping noise he pulled half of the muscle off the arm of his now crippled foe. The Beast screamed in agony as he tried to move his now worthless arm. Adonis got off his crippled opponent and grabbed his jaw and chest. He slowly began to move his body into position to rip The Beast's throat out. He growled in preparation as his head began to slowly move forward. Right before his jaws reached their target he stopped dead in his tracks as a whimper escaped his throat.

The Beast had managed to recover quick enough to put his remaining arm through Adonis's stomach and out his back. Adonis released his grip and fell backwards, shifting to his human state as he did. The Beast rose slowly and limped towards his prey. He picked Adonis up by his neck and threw him across the room. Before he could impact the many pieces of rebar covering the remains of a pillar they had shattered, a flash of fire appeared and caught Adonis dead in his tracks.

"Ah ah ah. That's not how we play with our friends. If you can't play nice, your little friend will just have to go home. No one dies today."

Goryo disappeared leaving only a note in his wake. The beast limped over to the note as he slowly changed back. Beast Boy was in more agony than he had ever been, but had to stop the bomb from going off. He reached the note and dropped to his knees to read it.

"There never was a bomb. If you're smart, you'll learn to control the animal within to avoid hurting yourself like that. Below are coordinates and the name of one of the few, true spirit shifters left in the world. She will teach you the control you so desperately need. –Sincerely, Goryo."

Goryo reappeared before Robin with Adonis in his arms. "there's no bomb here Robin. You have passed your test. As a leader, you must know when to be willing to make a sacrifice of your ally if the situation forces it. You were willing. You knew this whole thing to be a trap and you still made the only logical call. For that I will tell you one thing though. You will need to get to cyborg fast. Atlas does have a bomb inside of him. Not of my design or choice. He added it shortly after this attack began. Despite my orders. Better hurry. Cyborg looks as though he's found Atlas's weak point. Atlas won't allow himself to lose twice. Use a short range emp burst. Activate it next to Atlas's left leg, just above the foot."

Goryo disappeared in a flash of flames. Robin didn't want to take this criminal at his word but couldn't risk his friend's life over his paranoia. He would get Goryo later. He turned and sprinted through the doors and got to his bike. He hopped on and gunned it as hard as he could to the power plant. As he went he sent a call to Raven and Beast boy.  
"Raven, get to Beast Boy, he is seriously wounded and needs healing or he could die. Beast Boy, take whatever cloth you have and apply a tourniquet to your damaged arm. This'll slow the blood loss till Raven gets there. I'm going after cyborg. It looks like the only bomb that's active is the one that is inside Atlas. Robin out."


	10. Unwanted Memories

**The Burning Darkness**

**Chapter 10**

**Unwanted Memories**

Robin roared down the interstate as fast as his bike would carry him. He had to get to Cyborg and quickly. There was no telling how much longer before Atlas would detonate his bomb. He no doubt had created backups of his software somewhere and would be more than willing to kill himself in some strange way of proving his superiority over the only foe he had ever fought that had defeated him fairly. Robin looked down at the temperature gauge on his bike. He was pushing the bike to its absolute limit. He had it redlining temperature wise. He didn't need it to last much longer. Just long enough to make it. After that it could explode for all he cared. He just had to save his friend and the city.

Robin could see the power plant just on the other side of some trees. Just as he reached the tree line he could see a massive explosion. Then the shockwave caught him in the chest and sent him sprawling from his bike. The bike smashed into a tree, immediately destroying the tree and detonating. Robin shook himself off as best he could and began to run with what speed his wrecked body could carry him. "Hang on Victor. Don't be dead."

As Robin crossed the last tree he saw a person crash down in front of him. The body was covered in as and blood. "VICTOR! I'm coming! Don't give up. Please." Robin cried as he found new strength and sprinted towards his friend's body. Robin quickly closes the 100 yard gap between himself and the body till he was right on top of the body. He immediately dropped to his knees and turned the body onto its back. As the body shifted Robins eyes almost exploded out of his skull as he laid eyes on the face of the body holding Atlas' destroyed head.

Cyborg watched as Robin screamed for him and sprinted towards the strange body that fell to the ground moments earlier. He managed to hop slowly towards his friend. His left leg had been mangled in the fight. He needed to get his replacement from the tower. Along with a few other dings and dents, he was fine otherwise. "Yo! Rob! I'm over here! I'm ok!" Cyborg shouted to give his friend some security to show he wasn't the body before his eyes. Robin got up and sprinted over to Cyborg.

"Cyborg. Are you alright?! I saw the explosion and assumed the worst."

"Ya, I'm alright. Who the hell's body was that. I was fighting Atlas. I had him beat. Just before I could do anything Atlas said he was gonna detonate a bomb in his body so that no one could ever prove he was beaten by me. Next thing I know there's a flash of light and I hear an explosion going off over my head. Then, after I hopped my way out of the plant I saw you. How are you holding up? You look like you got run over by a steam roller."

"I'm fine. And, to answer your previous question, that body is not anyone I had expected… it's Goryo. And, He's still alive somehow."

A Flash of purple and green light lit up the vacuum. The two warriors of royal blood fought with all their might in the vacuum. Their cries hushed by the infinite silence of space. Starfire was nursing a shattered elbow. Her sister was sporting a broken knee and dislocated shoulder. Despite Blackfire's superiority in space, she didn't have the determination to win that her sister had.

Blackfire struggled to remain conscious. It was only a matter of time before she blacked out. Why hadn't Goryo contacted her? He was supposed to sound the retreat when the time was right so they could regroup and end the titans. Where was the all call? Before she had much time to think a starbolt caught her square in the center of her face and everything went black.

Starfire rushed her sister and caught her before she could reenter the atmosphere. If she entered it in this state she would surely die upon impact into the ground. She looked at her sister. She grabbed her communicator with a message from Robin. "Star, there's no bomb. Meet us at the power plant ASAP." She reread the message. She knew she had to. She moved her sister's weightless form to her shoulder and charged full speed back to earth.

The Titans all formed a circle around the unconscious body before them. Raven had arrived and used as much energy as she could spare to repair the damage done to all of them. Beast boy's healing ability helped him heal substantially before Raven had arrived. Robin had drained her the most as he had several shatter bones and some severe internal bleeding that would have killed nearly anyone else.

They all had decided to take a vote on how to handle this. On the one hand; this man had beaten Robin senseless… twice. He had also released nearly all of the most powerful villains they had ever faced in a united front against them. On the other hand; he had saved the lives of several people and was an excellent interrogation opportunity. They could learn his connection to these villains and how he controlled them all so easily.

Robin spoke up first. "I say we take him to the tower and hold him in the isolation cell we built for Raven. He can't be held anywhere else. His powers would destroy any other cell, and he can't teleport out of it. That way we can interrogate him."

Raven shook her head, "No, that won't work. That cell was designed for me and my father's minions. His powers are similar, but not the same. It may stop his teleportation, but nothing else. He can just melt his way through. That would probably destroy half the tower with it. We need to turn him over to the Justice League. They have the best facilities to hold him."

Beast Boy spoke next, "I agree with her. She knows more about this dark crap than any of us. Besides, this guy creeps me the hell out. I don't wanna sleep in the same building as him."

"No this jerk needs to stay with us. There's no way he'll break through one of my cells. I'm stronger than him and I couldn't smash my way out of that cell. Plus, that whole place is rigged with fire extinguishers. He heats it up too much; we'll just freeze his toasty ass." Cyborg was clearly offended that they assumed that there was a fault with his work.

Starfire just nodded and said, "I agree with Robing and Cyborg. We can hold him. We just need to take shifts."

Robin spoke up. "It's decided then. We take him back to the tower and interrogate him. Then we hand him over to the league. Raven can you teleport us home? I don't wanna risk him waking up before we get home."

Raven rolled her eyes and teleported them all to the holding cells in the tower. They immediately moved their prisoner to the cell and prepped it. They left it bare and left him to recover. Starfire took the first shift watching him as everyone was far more exhausted and damaged than she had been.

Raven and Beast Boy went to her room to get some much needed sleep. They showered together to save time and changed to their pajamas. Once that was done the kissed and curled up together and promptly fell asleep.

Raven was asleep for a short period of time when she felt something pulling at her spirit self. She allowed her body to rest as her spirit self entered deep within her sleeping mind to find the presence that was disturbing her. As she fell further within herself she could feel the presence coming towards her. She began to feel a burning agony coming from the being within. She could feel the suffering crashing against her in waves from whatever this thing was before her.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my mind?"

"Adelaide. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I hope you can forgive me. I never meant for this. I fought so hard. I couldn't save you. I love you. Please don't leave me. I tried. I tried so hard. Please don't leave me. I need you. Don't leave me."

The voice began to repeat the words over and over. Raven tried to gain further access into the mind. She needed to find the source of his agony. She knew this was Goryo. Maybe if she could help him, she could get him to be more cooperative. She pushed harder. Trying to force her way in. After a seemingly never ending battle, she managed to break through. As soon as she did she was surrounded by a flash of lights and a new sight greeted her.

Before her was a destroyed villa and orchard. There were bodies and destruction everywhere. She could easily count one hundred corpses. That wasn't counting the body parts surrounding her and the black ash piles that clearly had once been men. There had been an enormous battle. The dead and dying littered everything within sight. Flames surrounded her. The orchard was being reduced to ash. The villa was engulfed in flames as the screams of the men trapped inside burned alive. Raven wanted to pull back and escape the horrible sight before her. Even the sun had been engulfed in smoke and flames.

Raven turned her attention to a young woman's body held by a man. He was screaming in agony. He had two swords resting in the sheaths at his hips, and an arrow was sticking halfway out of his chest. It had clearly entered in his back shoulder and half of the arrow had exited his chest. There was blood slowly trickling from the wound. He didn't even seem to notice the damage the arrow was doing to his body. His cries of unknowable pain were from his heart. I was broken.

"Adelaide. Don't leave me. Please. I love you. We were gonna live here and have a family. How could you leave? No no no. please come back to me."

His cries of anguish crushed Raven. She took a step to the side and saw a dagger sticking from her chest. When she looked up at the face of the woman it surprised Raven. The face was hers. A little older and slightly tanner, but she looked identical to what Raven saw everytime she looked in her mirror. Her eyes were eternally open in shock as a small trail of blood had dried from her mouth. She had seen her attacker coming and could do nothing to stop what was coming.

Raven began to pull back. She needed to leave this memory now. As she took a step back the memory disappeared and Goryo shot up from his crouched position. He surrounded her in flames. "Where are you going little bird? You sneak into my mind and force your way into my worst memory. How did you get in here? No one has ever succeded in breaking into my mind. The greatest telepaths the world over have tried and nearly died. Yet, you succeeded. How?! Tell me now!"

With his last demand, he assumed a battle stance. Raven wasn't leaving his mind anytime soon.


	11. Adelaide

**Hey guys. Hope you guys are enjoying that story. This is probably my favorite chapter to date. I have been rather surprised lately at how many people have begun to read my story. So far, i have gotten some great feedback that has helped alot i think. this one came out a bit early. I am not sure if next week i'll be able to update. Got a ton of work and schoolwork to do. I will try my hardest. Please keep up at the suggestions, and as always, please review and enjoy.**

**The Burning Darkness**

**Chapter 11**

**Adelaide**

Goryo was consumed with rage. Before him stood the half demon woman who brought agony to his heart with a mere glance. She had stolen the thing most precious to him. His memory. That agony was for him alone to bear. No other knew of what had happened to him centuries prior. He would not allow this trespasser to his mind escape. This memory was better left in shadows. He was forced to relieve it every night. Every day this memory consumed his waking thoughts. He had fought so hard to keep it secret. But, somehow, this woman had not only accessed his mind, but had managed to witness the very memory that destroyed him. She couldn't be allowed to leave with this.

"How did you get in here?! This is your last warning woman. Tell me now of I will destroy your mind. This is not a threat. It is a promise. If you do not believe me, try my patience."

"You're mind entered mine. When I fell asleep, you're mind pulled me in here. I came here to find out what and who was assaulting my mind. I saw the whole memory Goryo. The bodies, the ash, her look of horror as you held her lifeless corpse. I know enough and I'm in your mind now. I will find out why you are doing this. We can either do this the easy way or the hard way. I can tell you don't enjoy this. You don't want to hurt us. Why are you?"

Goryo began laughing at this. "Do you honestly believe that you can stop me here? You forget. This is my mind. I MAKE THE RULES. YOU WILL NOT LEAVE UNLESS I WILL IT!" Goryo screamed and he and Raven were immediately consumed in flames.

Raven threw up a shield around herself to stop the fire from burning her alive. The bubble formed around her as her opponent charged forth. With a single punch the flames dissipated and her shield vanished. "What's the matter little bird? Still haven't figured it out? This is my domain here. In the outside world your power may be enough to bring down the most powerful heroes and villains. But, in here, your power is moot. Tell me what I want to know and all that shall happen is I shall take that memory from you. Or don't, then you will be annihilated. Your choice.

He was right. Raven knew she couldn't fight him here. He had barely given her shield a love tap and her full power failed her. She had to find either a way to convince him to release her, or escape. Raven began looking around her. She saw 3 doors in the distance. She decided to make a run for one. She threw the strongest blast she could muster straight at him. It caught him dead in the chest and sent him sprawling back. He clearly hadn't anticipated that so quickly. He also didn't anticipate her teleporting to the doors.

Raven reached the doors instantly and grabbed the handle of the door to the far right first. "Here goes everything." She muttered to herself as she flung the door open and sprinted into it.

Raven entered a new area. There were trees everywhere. These were not ablaze. They were covered in beautiful flowers. She could hear the sweet song of birds filling the air with their symphonies. She smelled the grass as the wind blew gently through the forest. The world was bright and beautiful. There was no suffering here. Only perfect serenity. She felt like life was perfect. That this place would prevent all the evils of the world from victory merely with its presence. Raven felt at peace.

She heard people talking as they neared her location. She dashed behind a tree and snuck a look to see who was coming. She didn't want to fight, but would if she needed to again. Before her, walking through the woods was a handsome man. One who Raven could not place. He was familiar but she had no idea who it was. It couldn't be Goryo. This man was different. The scar was nonexistent. He wore no armor or weapons. He was smiling and laughing with someone. Raven's curiosity got the better of her and she brought herself further around the tree to find out.

She saw the woman from the previous memory. She was beautiful. She had her hair let out freely. It was much longer than Raven's and reached down past her shoulders to her chest. She had bright beautiful eyes that were full of happiness. She had full lips and a perfect figure. Adelaide was a gorgeous woman. She had clearly taken Goryo's heart and held it very tight. With every step she took, with every breath she took, with every look at him she stole, Adelaide seemed to both kill and resurrect him.

The man was Goryo. It must be. This was his mind. His memory. He wouldn't remember a time where Adelaide would be with another man and have it as a clearly perfect memory. Goryo stopped walking as Adelaide placed her hand on his chest and kissed him softly on the lips. She then whispered in his ears and handed him the sheet she had been carrying. Goryo mouthed, "I love you." He then turned and walked another direction into the forest. Adelaide watched him walk away with a smile then turned to Raven. "Raven. I have a message for you to deliver to my love."

Raven was dumbstruck. From the clothes they were wearing this was easily two hundred years ago. How could she know about her? Raven stepped out into the open. She was prepared for a fight or flight depending on the need. Adelaide smiled and slowly walked over to Raven.

"Hello Raven. I'm quite sure this is a shock to you. I am long since dead and dust. I am not as dead as you would believe. It is true that my body and soul have passed on. What you are speaking to is a small portion of that soul. I have left this behind and buried it deep within his mind. I knew I would never have a chance to deliver this message myself. I created this spell on him as the men who slew me were coming towards our home. He had fought so hard to stop them. I could not see from my home but I could see the flames of his rage and the cries of his foes agony even from the great distance between us. My heart broke for him. I knew he would never stop them and he would survive. He could not be killed by men of mortal means. I knew he would suffer greatly through the passage of time, believing he had failed me. So, I created this spell and set it in the amulet that he had bought me on our honeymoon. I knew he would never leave it behind.

This spell took a small part of me and hid it until he touched it. When he did that piece left the amulet and hid deep within his mind until one who could enter here came. I have seen the passage of time through his eyes; I have felt his heart break every day for three hundred years. I had begun to give up hope for him until you came along. That night when you had spoken with him so kindly, it was the first time in centuries he was at peace. I knew that after seeing his research on you and your fellow warriors, you would be the one to come here. And so, I have prepared the message. This message cannot be spoken. For it to be delivered I must transfer all my memories to you. I know this seems a strange request. You know nothing of me. All you know of my husband is that he has nearly killed you all. But, I promise if you deliver this message, he will stop. Everything he has done has only been done with the best intentions. You will understand when we merge. Will you do this?

"I can't trust you Adelaide. For all I know is that this is a trap set by Goryo so that I can't escape. I'm sorry. I will not do this." Raven began to walk away. She couldn't allow her powers to mix with the spirit of a dead woman in an assassins mind. Her empathic senses were telling her that the spirit was telling the truth, but she couldn't trust her senses here. This is probably all a trap.

"Raven. I beg of you. You are the only one that can bring my husband peace. I have watched him suffer for so long. I cannot bear it. Please. I can't watch him live in torment any longer. I will not harm you in anyway. As long as you are here my husband cannot find you. You are safe here. I cannot help your escape in anyway except this. I implore you. This piece of my spirit will pass on if you do this. I will not be any part of you except the memories I store. I wish I could tell you more, but the information I hold is hidden from me as well. Only the by giving you myself will it be freed."

Raven turned to see Adelaide on her knees. A stream of tears fell from her eyes as she pleaded and sobbed in silence. Raven stopped. She couldn't bear to see and sense such overwhelming despair. This spirit needed to be set free. It was chained here by love and suffering. Goryo clearly had no part in this. This magic was pure. Untainted by any darkness. Raven walked back to her.

"Very well. I will help you. How do I do it?" Raven gave her a kind smile and helped her to her feet.

"Thank you Raven. All you need to do is hold hands with me and free yourself of all thought. I will do the rest. You will learn all that I have to give. I only know that I will show you memories, and all my spells. When I was alive and whole. I was not originally a witch. The ceremony he had saved me from gave me powers. These powers were of light. You will become more powerful than ever. As light and dark mix within you, your demonic urges will be much easier to suppress as your soul will become balanced. Take my hands and we shall begin.

Raven slowly took Adelaide's outstretched hands, and began clearing her mind of all thought. She felt an overwhelming sense of peace take her. She could feel Adelaide vanish from her hands and a great light flood into her. Raven felt as though she would burst. Her soul seemed to be ripped in half and she was face to face with herself. Before her were now two Ravens. One was clouded in shadow and had four glowing red eyes. The other was emitting a brilliant light and had bright yellow eyes.

The dark one was consumed with rage and a lust for destruction. It turned to the light one and hissed in anger. It seemed to be attempting to destroy the light but couldn't move any more. The light on turned back to the dark one and embraced it whispering, "You're not alone anymore."

With a flash both disappeared and became on ball of energy that floated a few feet before Raven. It then gently glided down to her chest and sunk into her. She could feel everything. Her body and soul shifting. She felt new spells and power spread through her body. She saw everything that Adelaide had seen. She knew everything from up to 2 months before her death.

Raven felt a pair of hands grab her out of the memory and slam her onto a hard floor. She looked up to see Goryo engulfed in flames as he screamed at the top of his lungs. "YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE! THIS IS MY MIND AND NO ONE IS ALLOWED. ANY LAST WORDS YOU WRETCH!"

Raven stood up slowly and walked over to him. She felt Adelaide come forth for the final time and take over. She reached her hand forward and brushed his cheek and extinguished the fire "It is alright my love. You can finally be at peace. Know that I never blamed you for my death. You did all you could to prevent it. Be at peace." With that Raven's body leaned forward and embraced him in a hug. She then looked up after a moment into a bewildered Goryo and reached up and removed his mask gently. She placed it on the ground and kissed him deeply.

After a long kiss, Raven finally regained full control and slowly backed away from him. Goryo dropped to his knees as the flames disappeared and tears flooded down his face. He looked up with nothing but sorrow in his eyes and said one thing. "Go. You are free to leave my mind. I will never bother the Titans again." He then flicked his wrist and Raven awoke instantly back into her body. She felt new and rose silently from her bed to examine herself. As soon as she stood up she looked at herself in the full length mirror near the bed.

She was now wearing a long white dress. It was slit up the sides to her upper thighs. It ran all the way down to about 2 inches above her ankles. Her feet were in tall white boots that went all the way up to her knees. The dress fit her form perfectly with a strip tied gently around her waist. The dress was sleeveless and fit tightly around her torso. It accentuated her curves and had a long diamond shape cut out in the chest revealing a small amount of cleavage. She now had gloves that began at her wrists and ran halfway up her upper arms. Below the wrists was just one strap each that attached to a golden ring around each middle finger. Her cloak was still there, but now it was white and had a gold chain connecting it around her neck. The chain attached to the cloak at two light red and black pendants. They were almost identical to her old Raven pendants. Her hair had grown out to just past shoulder length.

Raven finished examining her new form as her lover stirred on the bed. Beast Boy sat up and brushed the sleep from his eyes. "What's wrong Rae, are you al…." his jaw dropped as he saw his girlfriend. She looked astonishing. She seemed to emanate light and darkness at the same time. "What happened?"

Raven smiled at him. "Get dressed and get the others. We have a lot to talk about."


End file.
